Daily Gospel Reflection
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March 11, 2020
While Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and said to them on the way, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified; and on the third day he will be raised.”
Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, and kneeling before him, she asked a favor of him. And he said to her, “What do you want?”
She said to him, “Declare that these two sons of mine will sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.”
But Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.”
He said to them, “You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left, this is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
When the ten heard it, they were angry with the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you; rather, whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
As the mother of two young children, I am frequently reading parenting books and articles to grow in my vocation. I recently discovered the term “bulldozer mom.” While the “helicopter mom” hovers over her child’s every move, the more extreme “bulldozer mom” insists on removing all obstacles in the way of her child’s success.
At first glance of today’s gospel, I admired the way that the mother of James and John spoke to Jesus. She was courageous and bold. She spoke with complete confidence. However, after further reflection, I realized that she is undoubtedly a “bulldozer mom.” She is pursuing power and status for her sons without the effort and hard work that a Christian life requires. She is ultimately asking for a shortcut. Jesus does not condemn her for her boldness or faith, but he goes on to explain that the path to greatness requires self-sacrificing service. There aren’t any shortcuts. No one is entitled to these seats at his right hand and at his left.
I began to ask myself: Am I consistently seeking the easy route? How can I be more willing and motivated to be a servant to my family and those around me? How can I refrain from being the “bulldozer mom” and teach my children the value of hard work rather than removing all of their obstacles? Jesus, help me to remember that I am not above the work of a servant, but that great holiness must be achieved through a life of service.
Prayer
The life of your followers is one of service and self-sacrifice, a life like yours, Lord. Though you must have trembled before the betrayal, condemnation and suffering ahead, you did not turn away. No, you continued up to Jerusalem out of love for us.
Fill us with your love and your strength, O God, so that we might be the servant of our sisters and brothers and thus imitate your great gift of love. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Angus wanted only a humble life of prayer, but his holiness and wisdom brought him fame. His effort to escape notoriety ended up leaving behind an important record of saints.
He was born near Clonenagh, Ireland, in the middle of the eighth century. He joined the famous monastery near his home, and rapidly advanced in learning and holiness.
People at the time referred to a hermit as "servant of God," which in Gaelic was “Ceile De”—or “Culdee” as we have it now. Angus loved solitude. It was said that no one in Ireland could match him in virtue or learning, but his renown made him seek more time alone for prayer. He left the monastery to live as a hermit on the banks of a river, but people heard of his holiness and sought him out, so he retreated farther into the countryside. Still being found there, he decided to anonymously join a community at a monastery near Dublin.
As he was traveling to Dublin, he stopped in a church to pray and had a vision of angels singing around a tomb there. He inquired about the tomb from the priest of the parish, who replied that the man buried there was not exceptional in any way, but that his practice was to constantly recall the saints and ask them for prayers. Immediately, Angus was struck with the idea to compose a poem of praise to the saints to help people with this devotion.
He reached the monastery at Dublin, and joined the community as a simple layman and laborer without telling anyone who he was. He spent seven years working and praying there, but eventually his identity was discovered. The abbot, St. Maelruan, capitalized on his education, and the two set out to compose a lyrical hymn to the saints (known as the Félire in Irish, or as Festilogium in Latin). The work is the earliest metrical version of a martyrology—a list of saints and their feast days—to be written in the vernacular. It collected Irish saints and combined them with other known Christian saints. A page from his martyrology is pictured here.
After the death of St. Maelruan, Angus returned to Clonenagh, where he finished the work, and was raised to the position of abbot. The custom of the time made the appointment also a designation as bishop. He died on this date in 824, and his relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica. Variations on his name are Aengus and Oengus.
St. Angus, you were the Irish bishop who collected stories of the saints to help the faithful—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Angus' martyrology is in the public domain. Last accessed February 4, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
