Daily Gospel Reflection
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June 3, 2021
One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,
“Which is the first of all the commandments?”
Jesus replied, “The first is this:
Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
The second is this:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these.”
The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher.
You are right in saying,
He is One and there is no other than he.
And to love him with all your heart,
with all your understanding,
with all your strength,
and to love your neighbor as yourself
is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding,
he said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”
And no one dared to ask him any more questions.
It was quiet as the last part of my anxious rant echoed through the phone. Finally my mom asked, “When was the last time you went to church, or even just prayed?”
I thought back. Somewhere in the rush toward law school graduation, amidst the last set of finals and coming to terms with taking my first legal job 2,000 miles away from my parents, I had neglected Mass and, even more importantly, prayer—practices that always centered me.
As I confessed to my mom something she already knew, that I hadn’t prayed in weeks, I realized that I sometimes allow my intense anxiety about change and the unknown, and the stress of grades, deadlines, or interpersonal issues, to build up until I’m in a full-on frenzy. As my mom has pointed out more than once, I only reach that frenzy when I lose sight of my biggest support system, my most important relationship—the one with my God.
Jesus tells us in the Gospel that loving the Lord our God with all of hearts, souls, minds, and strength is our most important commandment. Before we approach God in love, however, we must first listen—the commandment begins with the word “hear.”
Loving God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength means being fully open and vulnerable, making space in the center of our lives to listen to God and to hear God’s presence moving and guiding us. We often try to take on worldly matters all on our own, leaving God out of the equation because we want to present our best face to God. We delay approaching God until we have it all together, and instead of feeling strong and capable on our own, we frequently feel lost or like we are spinning out of control.
God communicates love to us always—whether or not we have it together. We, in turn, are made to function with God as the center of our lives. Jesus knew that when we prioritize our relationship with God first, everything else will fall into place.
Prayer
O God, whose love never fails, give us the insight and understanding of the scribe. May we hear your commands, and may they find a home in us and guide us to your truth. As we walk in your ways, we ask you to open the doors of the heavenly kingdom to us. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Even though Africa was one of the earliest homes for Christianity, the interior of the continent had not been evangelized until modern times. Missionaries first entered central Africa in 1879, and started to evangelize there.
Catholic missionaries made progress engaging people in Uganda until the local ruler was replaced by a new leader, Mwanga, who was displeased with Christians because they opposed his indulgent lifestyle.
Mwanga was often drunk, and forced himself upon the young boys who served at court. One of Mwanga’s subjects, Joseph Mkasa, was in charge of the pages and led the Christian community that had started to grow in the palace. Joseph openly rebuked Mwanga for these evils and for killing Protestant missionaries in a massacre. Mwanga threatened Joseph with death, but Joseph replied, “A Christian who gives his life for God is not afraid to die.” In November of 1885, Joseph was beheaded.
Tensions continued to rise when other Christians refused to be fearful of this display of power. Charles Lwanga had taken over care for the pages and for the small Christian community from Joseph, and did what he could to spare the boys from the king’s vice. In May, Mwanga learned that some pages were receiving instruction in the faith. He sealed the royal palace and rounded up all of the pages with Charles.
The Christians were separated from the group, and Mwanga asked them if they intended to remain Christians. “Till death!” they replied. He ordered them all to be executed—most were just boys.
The group of boys were marched to a place for their execution 37 miles away. A number were killed along the way. When they arrived, they were all wrapped in reed mats and burned to death.
In all, 22 martyrs were killed under Mwanga, and they are memorialized on this date. When missionaries returned to Uganda after Mwanga’s death some years later, they found the Christian community had grown nearly four-fold in secret, encouraged by the witness of these martyrs.
The Catholic faithful of Uganda mark this feast day with pilgrimages and major liturgical celebrations. The relics of St. Charles Lwanga rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica, and his story and image are used by high school students who come to campus for a summer conference with the Notre Dame Vision program.
St. Charles Lwanga and friends, you confronted evil, died for your faith, and encouraged Christianity in Africa—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Charles Lwanga is an illustration by Julie Lonneman, who holds exclusive rights to the further distribution and publication of her art. Used with permission.