Daily Gospel Reflection
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June 15, 2019
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.”
Today’s Gospel prompts me to ask myself: when does my “yes” not mean yes? When does my “no” not mean no?
When my actions are motivated by peer pressure and insecurity, my “yes” doesn’t mean “yes.” My “yes” doesn’t mean ‘yes’ when I commit to something knowing I don’t have the time or energy to give it my full attention. When I don’t spend time in prayer with Our Lord, my “yes” to God is not really a “yes.” While going through the motions, I know, deep down, that I am not putting time and effort into my relationship with God.
My “no” doesn’t mean “no” when I give in to my desire for food, drink, and physical pleasures, without a consideration of sacrifice or temperance. My “no” doesn’t mean “no” when I convince myself I’m too busy to help others, but I then spend hours of mindless time on my phone or watching TV.
What happens when I don’t say what I mean? When my actions don’t match my intentions, I lose my peace and sense of self. I feel anxious and scattered. In Jesus’ time, people had trouble with this, and, two thousand years later, we clearly still haven’t figured it out. Why do we complicate our “yes” and “no”? What is the solution?
“Make good to the Lord all that you vow,” says Jesus. We need boundaries. Honesty. Simplicity. Examination of Conscience. Confession.
Today, I challenge myself to do an examination of conscience. At the end of the day, I will ask myself whether my actions were consistent with my intentions, and whether my intentions were consistent with God’s love. I challenge myself to go to confession more regularly, to receive that grace to live in bold honesty with myself, God and those around me. Today, I invite you to join me.
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
St. Edburga was the daughter of Saxon king, Edward the Elder of England, and was born in the early tenth century, around 920 AD, before the Norman Conquest of England. In the twelfth century, a legend of her life was written down by Osbert de Clare.
According to this legend, when Edburga was only three years old, her father was trying to decide whether she would be called to live in the world or as a religious sister. On one side of the table, he placed rings and bracelets, and on the other, a chalice and a book of the Gospels. When Edburga was brought in to the room, she reached for the chalice and the book.
Edburga was given over to the monastery that her mother sponsored, St. Mary's Abbey in Winchester. Edburga received her education there and stayed to profess vows.
In the monastery, Edburga did not seek special treatment on account of her noble lineage, although that was common practice at the time. Instead, she delighted in cleaning the shoes of the other wealthy nuns. Some tales say she washed their stockings for them while everyone else slept. Her humility led her to occasionally receive unjust punishments, but she accepted them gladly.
St. Edburga died on June 15, between the years 950 and 960. Veneration of this good and holy prioress began almost instantly after her death, and she was canonized in 972.
St. Edburga of Winchester, who chose religious life over the royal court—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Edburga of Winchester is available for use under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license. Last accessed March 18, 2025 on British Royal Family Wiki.