Daily Gospel Reflection
Join the Notre Dame family of faith. Receive God’s Word and a unique reflection in your inbox each day.
June 7, 2024
Since it was preparation day,
in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath,
for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one,
the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken
and they be taken down.
So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first
and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus.
But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead,
they did not break his legs,
but one soldier thrust his lance into his side,
and immediately blood and water flowed out.
An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true;
he knows that he is speaking the truth,
so that you also may come to believe.
For this happened so that the Scripture passage might be fulfilled:
Not a bone of it will be broken.
And again another passage says:
They will look upon him whom they have pierced.
I recall a letter from St. Teresa of Calcutta I was recently invited to pray with during a retreat. Her core message was that Jesus thirsts for you. Jesus thirsts with a unique love far more than we can ever imagine. And she is clear that we need to stop forgetting this thirst.
I sometimes forget this thirst when I think about Jesus’ Sacred Heart. I often forget his heart was pierced in the midst of this thirst. A heart in the habit of giving himself throughout his lifetime and in entirety on the cross; a heart oftentimes—if not most of the time—received with misunderstanding, conditional love, or direct rejection. He was and is love-made flesh. His heart was and is a heart purely driven by passion, thirsting for each created soul with full respect for our freedom to thirst for him in return.
He and his gentle, life-giving heart thirst for us amid our busy, full lives. He thirsts to journey and be included in each moment, each conversation, and each relationship. He desires to infuse our entire being with his love—to infuse every aspect of our lives. On this holy Solemnity, let us carve out some extra time with him in chapels and churches all across the world today, modeling the saints who remembered his thirst for them and loved him intensely in return.
Prayer
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, we offer thanks for the great gift of your love, a love to transform our hearts and bring us closer to you. Give us the vision to see our shortcomings, grace to do your will, and love to make our hearts like yours. In your sacred name, we pray. Amen.