Daily Gospel Reflection
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June 8, 2023
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.
What does it mean to love God “with all your heart?” To love is to care, support, and feel affection. However, we are not just asked to feel affection toward God. We are asked to love God “with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.”
We are asked to give everything. As a former Notre Dame Leprechaun, I would be remiss if I did not offer a cheer-related analogy to help us to understand this difference.
Notre Dame fans attending a Saturday Football Game are constantly cheering throughout the game. We offer our voices when the Irish score on offense and yell to help distract the opponent when the Irish are on defense. We are offering up our fandom to the team.
However, think about when the game is on the line, and the Irish are on defense. We, as fans, will often lose our voices from cheering so loudly, hoping to make it as difficult as possible for the opposing offense to communicate and energize the Irish on defense.
This is an entirely different kind of cheering because it comes from deep within us. We offer everything we have, giving our all to the Irish at that moment—our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
While this may seem like a silly analogy, anyone who has cheered at a sporting event before understands the difference between cheering out of excitement and cheering with all you have at crucial moments.
Practicing our faith daily can teach us to give our all to God through love, just like these moments at Notre Dame games. God Bless you all, and God Bless Notre Dame!
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
St. Medard or Medardus is a popular saint from northern France. Medard was born around the year 456 to a Frankish noble. His ancient legend describes him as having a twin brother, St. Gilard, who also became a bishop.
At the age of 33, Medard succeeded the previous bishop as Bishop of Vermand. As befits a saintly man, Medard protested the elevated rank of bishop, but the people insisted, so he accepted the responsibilities.
Medard moved his diocese's seat to Noyon, a stronger city, as there were conflicts between the Burgundians and Merovingian kingdoms near his region of France. Medard was purportedly the advisor to the King Clotaire.
Medard is famously the patron saint to be called upon when needing protection from bad weather. His legend tells that, as a child, he was sheltered from a rainstorm by an eagle, which the drawing to the left incorporates.
After Medard's death in 545, the people of France venerated his memory with great fervor and began relying on his heavenly generosity for many different cases. Medard is a patron saint invoked for protection against weather and of toothaches, two common annoyances; and sterility and imprisonment.
If that weren't enough for one saint to handle, Medard is also the patron saint of vineyards, brewers, those suffering from mental illness, and peasants. Medard is often depicted with his mouth open, laughing, as on the coat of arms of the German city of Lüdenscheid, to the right.
St. Medardus, joyful and beloved bishop—pray for us!