Daily Gospel Reflection
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June 14, 2025
Jesus said to his disciples:
“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors,
Do not take a false oath,
but make good to the Lord all that you vow.
But I say to you, do not swear at all;
not by heaven, for it is God’s throne;
nor by the earth, for it is his footstool;
nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
Do not swear by your head,
for you cannot make a single hair white or black.
Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’
Anything more is from the Evil One.”
When I learned that I would be moving into the Executive Director role at St. Margaret’s House, a day center for women and children in downtown South Bend, I read and listened to everything I could on leadership. One insight in particular has stuck with me: Good leaders are self-aware.
In today’s gospel, Jesus says the very same thing, just 2,000 years earlier: “Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the Evil One.” In other words, be in touch with yourself—your fears, your strengths and weaknesses, your true motivations—so that what you speak and do outwardly reflects your genuine inner self.
In my personal life, Jesus’ exhortation to let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No’ means not pushing away my spouse with harsh language in those moments when it feels less scary to use words as a fortress than to admit that I’m feeling afraid or insecure. Instead, Jesus calls me to choose vulnerability, which allows my husband to draw closer to me. In this way, what comes from my mouth reflects what is in my heart, and it strengthens, not weakens, my marriage.
At work, Jesus’ words mean giving a colleague honest feedback even when it’s uncomfortable to do so. I know in my heart that I have a responsibility to nurture my colleagues’ professional growth, just as I know how much I appreciate the times when they are frank with me. To shy away from the challenge of delivering hard but vital counsel is to violate Jesus’ exhortation to speak what is in our hearts.
Discipleship is not the path of least resistance. The integration of our interior and exterior selves is demanding work, but the only way, ultimately, to our salvation.
Prayer
We are not good listeners, Lord. To listen, we must keep quiet, but we always want to have the last word. While you have given each of us one mouth, you have bestowed our bodies with two ears. Help us to speak with integrity, and to listen twice as much as we speak. We come to you to learn of the Father. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Sts. Valerius and Rufinus have been well-known martyrs since the time of the early Church. They died in a town called Soissons, north of present-day Paris, towards the end of the third century.
The two were part of a group of missionaries who were sent to evangelize that region. When the empire began persecuting Christians, they fled to a cave in a nearby forest. They were found, however, arrested, and brought to trial. When they made a bold profession of faith, they were beaten, tortured, and beheaded.
The relics of St. Valerius rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica, and St. Rufinus is one of the 140 Saints that are depicted in statues that stand atop the colonnade in front of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
Sts. Valerius and Rufinus, you were friends who died for boldly proclaiming your faith, even when threatened with torture—pray for us!