Daily Gospel Reflection

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June 26, 2023

Monday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
Mt 7:1-5
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Jesus said to his disciples:
“Stop judging, that you may not be judged.
For as you judge, so will you be judged,
and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.
Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye,
but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?
How can you say to your brother,
‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’
while the wooden beam is in your eye?
You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first;
then you will see clearly
to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.”

Reflection

John Healy ’24
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As Christians living in the world, we are tempted to judge others negatively because of the sin we can easily see. In my life at college, I am often tempted to judge those who idolize alcohol or act promiscuously. When I read the news, I am also tempted to judge those who have broken the law or have harmed others.

In today’s gospel, Jesus tells us we must not judge anyone. Furthermore, Jesus says that the sins we observe in others are mere splinters next to the wooden beams of sin we so easily overlook in ourselves.

When I examine my conscience, I become more aware that the greed, lust, jealousy, and pride I observe in others also exist in me. These sins are not immediately self-evident, but they truly exist in my thoughts and are just as real as the sins in my actions. The sins in our thoughts are wooden beams, preventing us from seeing God’s presence in every person.

We will find it easier to love one another when we recognize that we are all children of Adam and Eve’s original sin. We will be able to love those who trespass against us because we will see that we, too, have already trespassed against others, yet God still loves us. We will be able to love those who sin against God because we will realize that we, too, have already sinned against God, yet God still loves us.

Let us pray that we may have the humility to recognize our own sins and the grace to love others as God loves us.

Prayer

Rev. Thomas McNally, C.S.C.

Lord, there are many kinds of blindness. We know that we are blind at times about what we should do or how we should live. In our blindness we often pass by someone who needs a kind word or a helping hand. Improve our vision so that we can be ready to see what you want us to do and whom you want us to help. Amen.

Saint of the Day

St. Josemaria Escriva

Josemaria Escriva is known for founding Opus Dei, an organization of Catholics who seek holiness in daily life.

He was born in Spain in 1902 to a devout family. He had five siblings, but three of his sisters died as infants. His father owned a small business but struggled to stay afloat and finally filed for bankruptcy. These misfortunes seemed to have matured Josemaria at an early age.

As a teenager, he once discovered the footprints a monk left behind in the snow—the image struck him and awoke within him a desire to become a priest. He entered the seminary and was ordained in 1925.

In 1927, Josemaria moved to Madrid to begin graduate study in civil law. Because his father had died three years prior, his mother, sister, and brother joined him—Josemaria was the family provider and supported them by tutoring other law students.

During this time, he also took on pastoral care for people who were sick or poor, as well as manual laborers in Madrid. University students who came to know him joined him in this work. When he was on retreat in 1928, it became clear to him that he should formalize this way of life and organize a Catholic community under the name Opus Dei, or “work of God.”

The community included clergy and laypeople, married and single people, men and women. It involved people from all walks of life in the effort to follow Jesus and seek holiness in their daily experience. The idea of Opus Dei was not to find holiness by escaping the world, as monks did, but by entering it more deeply and sanctifying it in the way members fulfill their responsibilities in their occupations and families and communities.

Josemaria’s work was interrupted by the Spanish Civil War, which began in 1936 and included a violent persecution of the Catholic Church. Many priests were killed, but Josemaria escaped into a safe region of Spain. When the war ended in 1939, he returned to Madrid and finished his law degree. He began spreading the work of Opus Dei and gave many retreats for laypeople, religious, and clergy.

Opus Dei began spreading through Spain, and after World War II it became an international organization. Members established institutions to serve the Church and society, such as hospitals and schools. It was formally approved by the Vatican in 1950 and today claims more than 80,000 members in more than 60 countries.

Josemaria moved to Rome to assist the growing international expansion of Opus Dei and to be a part of the conversation that was changing the Church in the era of the Second Vatican Council. He died on this date in 1975, and was canonized in 2002 after a miracle was confirmed in which a surgeon’s hands were healed from a career-ending disease through his intercession.

“With supernatural intuition, Blessed Josemaria untiringly preached the universal call to holiness,” said Pope St. John Paul II in his homily at the beatification of St. Josemaria. “Christ calls everyone to become holy in the realities of everyday life. Hence, work, too, is a means of personal holiness and apostolate, when it is done in union with Jesus Christ.”

The illustration above of St. Josemaria Escriva was created by Matthew Alderman '06 and is used here with his permission. The photograph is used here with permission from Catholic.org.

St. Josemaria Escriva, you founded Opus Dei and helped Christians find holiness in everyday life—pray for us!