Daily Gospel Reflection
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July 4, 2021
Jesus departed from there and came to his native place, accompanied by his disciples.
When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue,
and many who heard him were astonished.
They said, “Where did this man get all this?
What kind of wisdom has been given him?
What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands!
Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary,
and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon?
And are not his sisters here with us?”
And they took offense at him.
Jesus said to them,
“A prophet is not without honor except in his native place
and among his own kin and in his own house.”
So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there,
apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them.
He was amazed at their lack of faith.
As I consider this gospel passage, I’m struck by the response of the many: “Is he not the carpenter?” Truly Jesus Christ was a carpenter, but the crowds could not understand the beautiful significance of this humility. While his human origin, occupation, and poverty were a stumbling block to the many, they ought to be a cause of great wonder and awe for us. For our sake, the eternal Word, through whom all things were made, deigned to become a human carpenter. Without losing the wisdom and divinity by which he crafted all creation, instructed with authority, and wrought miracles, the Word was made flesh and, during his early years, chose to labor with human hands in the carpentry profession. This loving humility of God is a triumph of our faith.
In the gospel today, Jesus also exhibits his meekness by gracefully receiving opprobrium for his perfect, self-emptying love. Jesus’ humble love led him to be despised by a world whose standards of status, wealth, and power did not conform to his own salvific mission. So often I find myself neglecting charity due to an attachment to worldly possessions or shying away from the truth for fear of being criticized by others. If Jesus is the Lord of our life, what keeps us from imitating God’s self-emptying love?
Let us ask Jesus once more to show himself as a carpenter, but this time, instead of wood, the material shaped will be our hearts. Let us beg Jesus for his grace that he might mold our very life according to his example and that we might partake of his loving humility.
Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, give us today a faith to believe in you. You are the one sent by the Father to reconcile the world and to forgive us of our sins. Perfect our doubts, purify our lips, that we may only speak and act for your glory and praise. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Pier Giorgio Frassati was an extraordinary Catholic young man who immersed himself in the struggle for human dignity that defined the 20th century. When he died at the age of 24, the streets were flooded with people who mourned his early death, and it was the poor people whom he served who took up the cause of his canonization.
He was born in 1901 in Turin, Italy, to a wealthy and prestigious family who owned a newspaper; his father was named Italian ambassador to Germany. Pier was an average student and an excellent athlete. His passions included mountain climbing and playing practical jokes—his many friends called him "the Terror.”
As a young man, he threw himself into social action on behalf of the Catholic faith: he served the poor, prayed, and built community. Pier gave his efforts to a number of groups who worked for justice and spread Eucharistic piety and Marian devotion. Pier would give away any spending money he had—he would even offer his fare for the train to a poor person and would walk home instead.
He started a newspaper that took seriously the principles in Pope Leo XIII’s famous encyclical about the dignity of human labor and the rights of workers, Rerum Novarum. “Charity is not enough,” he would say. “We need social reform.”
When Church leaders organized a demonstration in Rome against fascism, he helped lead the crowd. Police began to suppress the protest with violence and knocked the lead banner from someone’s hands. Pier grabbed the banner and, holding it higher, used the pole to fend off other attacks. He and other demonstrators were arrested. He could have received special treatment because of his father’s position, but he refused and stayed with his friends in jail.
One night after his release, fascist supporters broke into his family’s house and tried to attack Pier and his father, but Pier repelled them and chased them out into the street with his bare hands.
He died on this date in 1925 after contracting an illness from his efforts serving the poor and sick. When his tomb was moved to the cathedral in Turin in 1981, it was discovered that no decay had corrupted his body.
Pope St. John Paull II beatified Pier Giorgio Frassati in 1990, and called him "the Man of Eight Beatitudes." “By his example he proclaims that a life lived in Christ's Spirit, the Spirit of the Beatitudes, is ‘blessed,’ and that only the person who becomes a man or woman of the Beatitudes can succeed in communicating love and peace to others,” the pope said at his beatification Mass. “He repeats that it is really worth giving up everything to serve the Lord. He testifies that holiness is possible for everyone, and that only the revolution of charity can enkindle the hope of a better future in the hearts of people.”
Pier’s story and image are used by high school students who come to campus for a summer conference with the Notre Dame Vision program.
Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, you were the young man who fought fascism and poverty with your bare hands—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati is an illustration by Julie Lonneman, who holds exclusive rights to the further distribution and publication of her art. Used with permission.