Daily Gospel Reflection

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July 9, 2023

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mt 11:25-30
Listen to the Audio Version

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 little ones.
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.”

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

Reflection

Tom Witt
ND Parent
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As a physician, I sometimes think my yoke is hard and my burden heavy. Then I open the exam room door, and I meet Joe, a severely disabled man in his early fifties, and his parents, who are somewhere in their eighties.

I am humbled by their extraordinary efforts and countless sacrifices since the day Joe was born to keep him clean, fed, warm, and loved. Their only reward has been a smile or just a serene look in Joe’s eyes that only they can see. I learned long ago to remove my yoke and leave it at the door before I enter any patient’s room.

Sometimes, though, it’s much harder to take off my yoke. Sometimes things don’t go as planned or turn out how I intended or expected. Sometimes that’s because of a quirk of biology or a strange set of circumstances that no one could anticipate. A few times, though, it’s because of what I did or didn’t do—a judgement call made in the moment that didn’t work out—and the consequences are devastating.

Then the weight of the burden on the end of my yoke feels soul-crushing. It is then I desperately need Jesus to take the yoke off my shoulders. And thankfully, Jesus can do anything! Although my shoulders bear the scars of a life in medicine, they can easily handle the yoke that Jesus gives me in return, where the only added weight is from the ink used to inscribe the two greatest commandments.

Prayer

Rev. Brent Kruger, C.S.C.

Loving God, your Son holds out to us his heart. It is wounded by hatred and suffering, but his desire for us is not diminished. Help us to know the depth of his longing for our salvation and to grow in imitation of his love. We make this prayer in his name, for he is Lord forever and ever. Amen.

Saint of the Day

Martyr Saints of China

In the 19th century, China opened its doors to world trade, and missionaries traveled there to evangelize the nation. By the end of the century, as China’s economy wavered, attitudes towards the foreigners had begun to change. A nationalist movement took shape that opposed foreign imperialism and Christianity.

A secret society was formed to drive the Europeans away—they called themselves the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists. In 1900, these “Boxers” led attacks on embassies and diplomats, merchants and missionaries. Any Chinese who had converted to Christianity were also killed—a total of some 30,000 Christians were massacred.

In many cases, these martyrs were given a chance to renounce their faith, and were killed by strangulation when they refused.

The Catholic Church honors 120 Catholics who died between 1648 and 1930 as the “Martyr Saints of China”—86 of these died during the Boxer Rebellion.

Among them were Augustine Tchao, who was a Chinese soldier who escorted a bishop to Beijing during his missionary work. The bishop, Saint Gabriel-Taurin Dufresse, had such a powerful personal witness that Augustine was moved to consider the faith. He was among those who were converted by Gabriel, and went on to become ordained a priest. He was arrested during a persecution in 1815, and was tortured and killed.

Of the 120 Martyr Saints, 87 were Chinese lay people and 33 were missionaries. These saints were canonized by St. Pope John Paul II in 2000, and are sometimes referred to as Augustine Zhao Rong and his 119 companions. Their image is used here with permission from Catholic.org.

Martyr Saints of China, you remained true to your faith even under torture, and died for what you believed—pray for us!