Daily Gospel Reflection
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July 15, 2025
Jesus began to reproach the towns
where most of his mighty deeds had been done,
since they had not repented.
“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!
For if the mighty deeds done in your midst
had been done in Tyre and Sidon,
they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes.
But I tell you, it will be more tolerable
for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.
And as for you, Capernaum:
Will you be exalted to heaven?
You will go down to the netherworld.
For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom,
it would have remained until this day.
But I tell you, it will be more tolerable
for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”
Today’s gospel encompasses biblical topics that I struggle with the most: God’s judgment and justice. At first glance, God seems disconnected and vengeful in this passage. How can we reckon with a loving God who would destroy entire cities of people living freely in the reality he created?
Saint Augustine once wrote that “the authors of Scripture have decided to use the name wrath for God’s vengeance, although God’s vengeance is exercised with absolutely no such emotion.” We are trying to understand something beyond us, using the emotional and physical experiences most immediate to us as humans. God’s judgment isn’t like our judgment. It isn’t done with anger, petty relish, or unnecessary violence. Instead, God’s judgment is the natural extension and consequence of our rejection of his love.
While rational explanations of God’s “wrath” help understand this passage and God’s judgment in general, they may not fully satisfy at times. I still feel hesitant and afraid to approach God as he appears in this passage, especially when I sin, which is why I find it helpful to meditate on Christ.
Christ’s humility in accepting his cross shows us the extent of God’s love for us and reveals how we might receive the more challenging or painful aspects of God’s plan for us—our personal crosses. Jesus agonized over God’s plan, fearing the cross he was meant to bear. When I feel confused by or angry at God’s judgment of us, I find strength in Christ, who said, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will,” (Mt.26:39). In prayer, Jesus trusted the Father’s judgement of what was necessary.
Clinging to pride or fearful confusion in the face of God’s justice can only lead to our ruin. On the other hand, clinging to the side of the crucified Christ, no matter how sin may tempt us or painful circumstances may challenge us, can only lead to eternal life.
Prayer
Forgiving God, help us to repent of our sins and failings, and renew our lives by our imitation of you Son. May we be always grateful for the mighty deeds you have done for us. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Bonaventure is one of the greatest minds the Church ever produced, and he seamlessly combined a love for truth with a love for God.
He was born in Italy in 1221 and became a Franciscan. He was educated at the University of Paris and went on to teach Scripture and theology there for nearly a decade before taking on leadership of his own order.
Bonaventure dedicated even more time to prayer than he did to his study, and people could feel a deep, inward peace about him. He was always cheerful and once said, “A spiritual joy is the greatest sign of the divine grace dwelling in a soul.”
He was ordained a priest and wrote several mystical works about prayer, poverty, and the path to holiness. Bonaventure wrote with such devotion and love that his works “warmed the heart,” said one scholar of his time. “Whoever would be both learned and devout, let him read the works of Bonaventure.”
He was a concise thinker who could strike to the heart of the matter. He frequently meditated on the joy of heaven, and his writing awoke in readers a desire for union with God. “God, all the glorious souls, and the whole family of the eternal King wait for us and desire that we should be with them,” Bonaventure wrote. “Shall not we desire above all things to be admitted into their happy company?”
He wrote of the perfection of Christian life, not by renouncing the world like a monk, but by simply doing ordinary things of our daily life very well. “The perfection of a religious person is to do common things in a perfect manner,” he wrote. “A constant fidelity in small things is a great and heroic virtue.”
Bonaventure is called the second founder of the Franciscans because he was able to guide the community through important matters of interpretation about the way of life they should lead. He wrote an authoritative biography of Francis.
The pope named Bonaventure a cardinal, and when the saint received news of the appointment, he was washing dishes in a convent where he was staying. The messengers were carrying the red hat of a cardinal (shown in this image from a Basilica mural), but his hands were greasy from the dishes. He had them hang it in a tree outside until he was finished, then he went and put it on, accepting the office.
When the pope called a council to discuss the unity of the Church with Greek faithful who had split from Rome, he asked Bonaventure to lead it. Bonaventure led a successful council but died during the celebrations.
The pope preached at his funeral and said, “No one ever met Bonaventure who did not find a great regard and affection for him. Even strangers wanted to follow his advice, just from hearing him speak. He was gentle, courteous, humble, pleasing to everyone, compassionate, prudent, chaste, and adorned with all virtues.”
Bonaventure has been declared a doctor of the Church, a title given to 38 saints who are known for elucidating the faith by their words or example. He is known as the "Seraphic Doctor" after the angels who are called the “burning ones” in Scripture, as his works communicated his burning love of God.
The relics of St. Bonaventure rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica, and the statue of him in his Franciscan habit (shown above) stands on Alumni Hall.
St. Bonaventure, you awoke in people a desire for the joy of heaven—pray for us!
