Daily Gospel Reflection
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June 23, 2021
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing,
but underneath are ravenous wolves.
By their fruits you will know them.
Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
Just so, every good tree bears good fruit,
and a rotten tree bears bad fruit.
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit,
nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit.
Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down
and thrown into the fire.
So by their fruits you will know them.”
The good tree bears good fruit and the bad tree bad fruit. Of course it would make sense that the bad tree be cut down. When I first read this it seems so obvious: I want to be the good tree and I want to bear good fruit.
But as I think more deeply about Jesus’s words, my mind’s eye wanders to an orchard of good trees and bad trees. The bad trees my imagination conjures are straight out of the Wizard of Oz with evil grins and branches shaped like hands with which to hurl the bad fruit at me from a distance. These bad trees dot my orchard and seem to be able to hit any of my good trees with their thrown rotten apples. And suddenly my good trees with their nearly ripened apples brimming with crisp deliciousness are covered in rancid applesauce. I am not just a single tree but an entire orchard—I want to be a good orchard and bear many good fruits.
We each must cultivate good trees, good habits, within ourselves that bear good fruit; we must cut down our habits that bear bad fruit. And we cannot merely cut them down, but we must also burn them in the fire. The burning of the trees strikes me as significant, because it is not sufficient to simply cut down bad trees—they must also be burnt. This signifies converting the bad to a better, higher purpose in the same way I imagine a campfire made at the edge of my orchard would provide warmth, light, and heat for cooking. The fire we have available to us is the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
False prophets will be known by the fruit they bear. In order to be good prophets—to bear God’s word to others—we must not only seek out and remove those things that keep us from God, but we must burn them in the fire of reconciliation if we truly want to bear good fruit.
Prayer
Holy Spirit of God, help us discern wisely so that we might recognize you in all your manifestations and not be deceived by false prophets. Free us from all pretense and deceptiveness. Help us too, dear God, to represent you truly in our dealings with others, so that they might not be deceived and will see in us your love, truth, and deep care. May we always be who you created us to be—your image and likeness. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Joseph Cafasso stood at the center of a network of religious people who shaped the Church with their work in the 1800s; he had a large influence on St. John Bosco’s vocation to work with boys.
He was born in 1811 in Italy. His health was good, but he was undersized, and his body was twisted because his spine was slightly deformed. He was an excellent student, and assisted his classmates in their studies. He was sent to seminary, where he was the best student in the school, and was ordained a priest in 1833. He pursued further studies in moral theology.
In spite of his small size and his stooped posture, Joseph commanded respect among those he met with his handsome features and deep, resonant voice. He was a compelling preacher, and became a very effective lecturer.
He was given leadership positions in the institutions where he taught, and formed many priests who studied there. A very young St. John Bosco met Joseph and was inspired by his example. He followed Joseph and studied at his school; it was Joseph who helped John discover his vocation to work with wayward boys.
Jansenism, a scrupulous strain of thought that considered any fault a grave sin, was a popular belief among many, and Joseph helped people find balance in their spiritual lives, especially though his ministry in Confession. “When we hear Confessions, our Lord wants us to be loving and compassionate, to be fatherly towards all who come to us, without reference to who they are or what they have done,” he wrote to fellow priests. “If we repel anybody, if any soul is lost through our fault, we shall be held to account—their blood will be upon our hands.”
He was famous for his ministry with prisoners, and is patron saint of those in jail and those who care for them. The prisons of his day herded the condemned together under horrible conditions, and he visited men, giving them dignity and inspiring hope. The most famous of his converts was a man who deserted the army and was leader of a notorious gang. Joseph accompanied more than 60 prisoners to their execution—he called these men his “hanged saints” and asked for their prayers.
A number of other priests and nuns who founded new religious communities found an effective ally in Joseph—at least ten emerging orders found his support and guidance indispensable.
In 1860, Joseph fell ill, and he died on this date of pneumonia. John Bosco preached at his funeral, which was attended by an enormous crowd.
St. Joseph Cafasso, you served prisoners and inspired a generation of priests and nuns—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Joseph Cafasso is in the public domain. Last accessed March 19, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
