Daily Gospel Reflection
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June 26, 2026
When Jesus came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him.
And then a leper approached, did him homage, and said,
“Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”
He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said,
“I will do it. Be made clean.”
His leprosy was cleansed immediately.
Then Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one,
but go show yourself to the priest,
and offer the gift that Moses prescribed;
that will be proof for them.”
Excerpts from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, second typical edition © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. Used with permission. All rights reserved. No portion of this text may be reproduced by any means without permission in writing from the copyright owner. The full readings of the day from the Lectionary are available here.
Asking for what we need can be difficult. We live in a society that values self-reliance and pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps, and when someone asks for help, it may be viewed as a sign of weakness.
But asking for help is a sign of trust—of dependence that is often based on a sense of comfort and love. As a mom, I’m asked for help constantly: “Have you seen my shoes?” “Can you sign this form?” “What do I do about this complicated relationship problem?” (Those I usually pass to my husband.)
And every time that I can offer that help: “Your shoes are in the den.” “Yes, here’s my pen.” “That sounds like a problem Dad would have good advice about!” I am showing my kids how much I love them. I am listening to their problems and providing a solution that makes their lives easier and more fulfilled.
I wonder, in this gospel, how the leper felt approaching Jesus. Like my kids, was this ask of our Lord something easy? Or did the leper have to overcome the human tendency towards self-reliance, worrying that the expression of his desires to God was a sign of weakness? I find that my prayers to God often err in that direction; sometimes expressing what I want can feel like admitting I don’t have what I need. But, like a loving parent, God wants to provide for us to show God’s love for us.
How can you better give God that opportunity?
Prayer
We come before you, Lord, our hearts at times almost smothered with selfishness, unkindness, foolish arguments with loved ones, and much more of the same. But to learn that we can find forgiveness, find hope, that we can turn our lives around to sincere love, to courage in honesty with ourselves, and to live with trust in the Lord’s providence is a wonderful gift. “If you wish Lord, you can make me clean.” “I do wish it. Be made clean!”
Saint of the Day
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.”
St. Josemaria Escriva, you founded Opus Dei and helped Christians find holiness in everyday life—pray for us!
Image Credit: Image by Notre Dame alumnus Matthew Alderman, who holds exclusive rights to the further distribution and publication of his art. Used here with permission.