Daily Gospel Reflection
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July 16, 2025
At that time Jesus exclaimed:
“I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to the childlike.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows the Son except the Father,
and no one knows the Father except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”
My college students often hesitate to ask questions in class for fear of sounding dumb. But my 3-year-old nephew has no such qualms. He isn’t scared of asking hard questions, stupid questions, awkward questions, or deeply ontological questions, and he certainly isn’t afraid of asking too many questions. Sometimes, his questions are so fundamental that I, an “expert”, have a hard time answering them. For instance, one day, he called me up and said, “Aunt Rachel, what is a chemical?” And I, the “wise and learned” chemistry Ph.D., was momentarily stumped.
Perhaps this is part of what Jesus meant when he praised his Father for hiding things from the wise and learned and revealing them to the childlike. Too often, we “wise and learned” ask only the questions to which we think we know the answers. We hide behind our hard-earned knowledge, fearing the plunge into uncharted territory where we will once again be beginners. But children, to whom everything is new, venture blithely into the unknown and receive what they learn with open hands and wide-eyed wonder.
Today, then, let us return to the wisdom of childhood, trading our fear, our pride, and our self-sufficiency for curiosity, wonder, and receptivity. For perhaps it is only in becoming like children that we can be truly wise.
Prayer
Jesus, yesterday we prayed for your patience with us until we finally comprehend that your way is the only way to peace and wholeness. Today you pray for us. In that prayer, you tell us exactly what is needed. Please help my ego to get out of the way so that your prayer may bear fruit in my life. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel is a title given to Mary as patron of the Carmelite religious community of contemplative monks, nuns, and priests.
The original Carmelites were hermits living on Mt. Carmel in the Holy Land in the late 12th century. They chose Mt. Carmel because it is the place where the Old Testament prophet Elijah defended the purity of Israel’s faith. The monks built a chapel on the mount and dedicated it to “Our Lady of the place.”
The Carmelites celebrated a special feast on July 16 to mark the day that Mary appeared to St. Simon Stock and gave him the scapular. By the 1700s, this July 16 feast was being celebrated everywhere in the Church.
St. Simon Stock was an early Carmelite who received a vision of Mary on this date in 1251 in which she gave him the brown scapular. The scapular comes from a two-sided apron that monks wear while they work—a skinny poncho of sorts. In the vision, Mary handed Simon a scapular and told him that she would protect whoever wore it. The garment became part of the Carmelite habit and appears in many other religious habits as well.
Many people wear a small version of the scapular under their shirts, which looks like two brown, square pieces of cloth that hang on the breast and back, connected by strings around one’s neck. It is worn as a devotional practice—as a way to call to mind Mary’s motherly protection and to ask for her prayerful assistance.
Some of the Church’s greatest saints were Carmelites, including St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, and St. Therese of Lisieux, all of whom are doctors of the Church.
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, you gave us the scapular, and you protect and care for us as a mother—pray for us!
Image Credit: Image by Notre Dame alumnus Matthew Alderman, who holds exclusive rights to the further distribution and publication of his art. Used here with permission.