Daily Gospel Reflection
Join the Notre Dame family of faith. Receive God’s Word and a unique reflection in your inbox each day.
July 12, 2021
Jesus said to his Apostles:
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth.
I have come to bring not peace but the sword.
For I have come to set
a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
and one’s enemies will be those of his household.
“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me,
and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
and whoever does not take up his cross
and follow after me is not worthy of me.
Whoever finds his life will lose it,
and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
“Whoever receives you receives me,
and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.
Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet
will receive a prophet’s reward,
and whoever receives a righteous man
because he is righteous
will receive a righteous man’s reward.
And whoever gives only a cup of cold water
to one of these little ones to drink
because he is a disciple–
amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.”
When Jesus finished giving these commands to his Twelve disciples,
he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns.
Today’s gospel certainly includes difficult messages which capture our attention. Jesus leaves no doubt that following him brings challenges, forces choices, and demands sacrifices. The Prince of Peace tells us he has not come to bring peace. The very Son of God tells us that sons and fathers, mothers and daughters, even in-laws, will be pitted against one another in his name. Take up your cross and lose your life. Wow! I had the feeling of playing “Where’s Waldo?” as I searched for the Good News in this passage.
The reading does pose a number of exacting questions to us. How often are we distracted along our journeys of discipleship? Are we doing all the right things? Have we done enough, or can we do even greater things on behalf of our faith?
Fortunately, Jesus does not leave us alone to needlessly ponder these unsettling topics. Instead, he reminds us that living our calling as disciples can be accomplished in seemingly little, hidden ways.
When we welcome Jesus into our lives and hearts or do the same of the prophets and righteous in our midst, we live according to God’s will. Even something as simple as giving a cup of water to one in need is sufficient for a great reward. Instead of dismissing such things, Jesus elevates them and encourages us to perform such acts of kindness.
Hidden among the great challenges of discipleship is Jesus’ call for us to seek the simplest of things amidst larger distractions. Like a child getting to the end of a Waldo book, we will greatly rejoice as God bestows on us a heavenly reward.
Prayer
We pray this day for all broken, wounded families, Father. There is so much that tears your people—our brothers and sisters—apart: bad relationships, violence, war, illness, religious fundamentalism, economics…oh, the list goes on and on. Lord, please have mercy on us all. Heal our divisions, mend our broken hearts, bring an end to all violence. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Louis and Zélie Martin were an inspirational couple, devoted to God and one another, and faithful and holy parents, who helped each other and their children to sainthood.
Louis was born on August 22, 1823, in Bordeaux. Zélie was born Marie-Azélie Guérin in northwest France, in a town very near Alençon, on December 23, 1831.
Louis was the third of five children. Louis desired to become a monk and wanted to join the Augustinian Monastery of St. Bernard in the Alps, the famous monks who rescued wayward vacationers or travelers in the cold mountains.
Louis went to the monastery to discern a vocation but was turned away because he could not learn Latin sufficiently. Dejected, Louis left the monastery, but returned to the world and became a watchmaker. He settled down in Alençon.
Zélie was the second-oldest daughter, from a large family like her husband. Also like Louis, Zélie yearned to join religious life. But she was not strong enough and suffered from too much poor health to join Vincent de Paul's order of sisters, the Sisters of Charity. Zélie took up lacemaking and became a widely-recognized manufacturer of Alençon lace. There, in Alençon, the watchmaker and lacemaker fell in love, and Zélie and Louis were married in 1858 in the Basilica of Notre-Dame in Alençon. Twelve years later, Louis sold his watchmaking business to go into business with his wife, whose lacemaking business was booming.
For ten months after their wedding, the couple did not consummate their marriage. Since they had both so deeply longed for religious life, they continued to live like Mary and Joseph. Their spiritual director encouraged them to live as husband and wife, and they ended up having nine children, only five of whom lived past infancy.
Zélie and Louis were devastated by the loss of four children, but they vowed to pour their love into the children that God granted life to.
Louis and Zélie were affectionate and deeply sentimental parents, expressing their love and devotion to each other, their children, and their God without embarrassment. Sadly, Zélie died of breast cancer in 1877. Louis left Alençon and settled his family near Zélie's brother in Lisieux. Soon, Pauline joined Carmel, then Marie, then Thérèse, and finally Céline. Léonie, the middle daughter, joined the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary. Louis watched as his daughters fulfilled their parents' dreams of giving their lives over to God.
In 1889, Louis was paralyzed by back-to-back strokes, and he spent the remainder of his life in hospice in care. In 1892, he returned to Lisieux, where Céline and Léonie cared for him in his final days, before he died in July 1894.
Louis and Zélie were canonized on October 18, 2015.
Sts. Louis and Zélie, parents of St. Thérèse the Little Flower—pray for us!
Image Credit: (1) Our featured image of St. Zélie Martin is in the public domain. Last accessed March 20, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons. (2) Our image of St. Louis Martin is also in the public domain and was last accessed March 20, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
