Daily Gospel Reflection
Join the Notre Dame family of faith. Receive God’s Word and a unique reflection in your inbox each day.
July 13, 2019
Jesus said to his Apostles:
“No disciple is above his teacher,
no slave above his master.
It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher,
for the slave that he become like his master.
If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul,
how much more those of his household!
“Therefore do not be afraid of them.
Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed,
nor secret that will not be known.
What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light;
what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.
And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul;
rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy
both soul and body in Gehenna.
Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin?
Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge.
Even all the hairs of your head are counted.
So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Everyone who acknowledges me before others
I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father.
But whoever denies me before others,
I will deny before my heavenly Father.”
I remember my high school religion teacher passionately telling us that “not one sparrow falls to the ground without our Father’s knowledge. Even the very hairs on your head are numbered.” Not only is God the source of all life, God sustains all. Everything lives, moves, and has its being in God. All created things radiate God’s holiness. Every flower of the field, bird of the air, and child is holy. God holds us all in the palm of God’s hand. So our Lord says “Do not be afraid!”
We are creatures of fear. Fear is deeply embedded in our human makeup. As a young family man, I had some difficulties keeping a job. When I lost a job for the third time, I was driven by fear. I worked very long hours. I left the house at 7 am and returned at 8pm, only to work more hours at home. Now retired, I fear that our nest egg might not be sufficient or could be impacted by a reversal in the economy. Fear constricts my life and narrows my vision. When I fear, I do not enjoy the spacious love God offers.
Jesus tells us the disciple does not outrank his teacher. When he calls us to follow him, he calls us to follow him to the cross. In the face of their overwhelming fears, Jesus did not assure his disciples that God would protect them. He told them (and us) that, even in the face of suffering, we should “be not afraid.” We must entrust our cares and concerns, illnesses and fears to the loving care of God. For, in the end, as Julian of Norwich wrote, “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.”
Prayer
Almighty God, we are humbled as we ponder the mystery of your love for us. Open our eyes and our hearts to see you in the childlike and the wise, to know you in the stranger and the outcast, to love you in the poor and the needy. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Henry was the most important ruler of his time, and is remembered for his virtue and his careful tending of the Church and his people.
He was born in 972 to royalty in Bavaria, and was well-educated. At the age of 30, he was chosen emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. As emperor, he was surrounded at all times by honor, power, and wealth, and he fought pride and selfishness with constant attention to prayer, which gave him humility. He understood that his position was an opportunity to serve God and the people he led.
Still, he was an effective and savvy politician, and expanded the territory and influence of the empire. Along the way, he helped further establish the Church, restoring churches and monasteries in regions where it had been neglected. He wanted to spread the faith and support the poor, and the institutions he founded ensured that this work would continue past his own lifetime.
In one of his excursions against the Greeks, he fell sick and took rest at Monte Cassino, where it is said that he was cured through the intercession of St. Benedict. The illness left Henry partly disabled for the rest of his life.
Much of what has been passed down to us about Henry has been exaggerated because of his position, but it seems that he took as much care to govern himself as the empire. He helped in efforts to reform and renew the Church, and is considered the most important ruler in Europe at the beginning of the 11th century.
St. Henry’s relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.
St. Henry, you were the king who governed yourself with as much care as you did the empire—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Henry is in the public domain. Last accessed March 20, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
