Daily Gospel Reflection
Join the Notre Dame family of faith. Receive God’s Word and a unique reflection in your inbox each day.
March 2, 2021
Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying,
“The scribes and the Pharisees
have taken their seat on the chair of Moses.
Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you,
but do not follow their example.
For they preach but they do not practice.
They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry
and lay them on people’s shoulders,
but they will not lift a finger to move them.
All their works are performed to be seen.
They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.
They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues,
greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation ‘Rabbi.’
As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi.’
You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers.
Call no one on earth your father;
you have but one Father in heaven.
Do not be called ‘Master’;
you have but one master, the Christ.
The greatest among you must be your servant.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled;
but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
Reflection
Jesus admonished the crowds not to follow the example of the Pharisees. “Everything they do is meant to attract the attention of others.”
Everything they do is meant to attract the attention of others. Isn’t so much of what we do meant to attract the attention of others? We create resumes, submit applications, design webpages as means of attracting attention to our accomplishments. We gather likes and followers, post photos, pursue awards, and so forth. Are we acting like the Pharisees? Indeed, isn’t all of this worse than merely widening a phylactery or lengthening a tassel?
The problem with the Pharisees, Jesus tells us, was not attention seeking in itself. The problem was the reason they were seeking attention. The Pharisees were seeking to attract attention to themselves for their own exaltation, not for the good of others. Jesus tells us that while the Pharisees sought to exalt themselves, they would “not lift a finger to be of assistance to anyone else.” There are many saints who drew attention to themselves in word and action, but not for their own exaltation. They attracted attention to support charitable works of mercy, to inspire others to serve, and to share the Truth.
Jesus doesn’t tell us to avoid attention altogether. What He tells us is to avoid attracting attention for the sake of exalting ourselves. The true measure of whether we should pursue an act meant to attract the attention of others in its purpose. Do we mean the act to increase ourselves, or do we mean it ultimately to serve others in Christ?
Prayer
Dear Lord, today, you talk about being with people who put on airs, who think themselves more important or more knowledgeable than they really are. Oh, how we want to puncture them with a few well-chosen words! Yet in reality they may be the most frightened and lonely people around. Help us to serve them, to ease or grow out of their fear instead of condemning them.
Saint of the Day
St. Angela was a young woman from Spain who founded the Sisters of the Company of the Cross. Angela was born as María de los Ángeles Guerrero y Gonzálex in Seville, Spain in 1846.
She was one of fourteen children, most of whom did not survive childhood. Her parents were humble workers who worked at a Trinitarian Friary in their city. Angela did not receive much formal education, but she received catechesis and received her first communion at eight and confirmation. When she was just twelve years old, she began to repair shoes in a local cobbler's shop.
Although a shoe repair shop seems like an unlikely place to encounter Christ, it was while working in this shop that the flames of young Angela's faith were fanned. Antonia Maldonado, the owner of the shop, encouraged all her employees to pray together during the work-day. Antonia taught them the lives of the saints. Antonia's spiritual director, a priest renowned for his spiritual wisdom, often heard the confessions of the women in the shop. At the age of nineteen, Angela applied to become a Carmelite sister. The Carmelites denied the frail young woman's request, as she did not seem suited for the manual life of the monastic Carmelites.
Angela's confessor recommended that she begin working among the ill of the city on her own. In 1865, a cholera epidemic was running through Seville, and there were many sick men and women in need of care. Angela cared for the sick, and still kept her heart set on religious life. She applied to join the Daughters of Charity in Seville. She was accepted, but illness kept her from becoming a full part of the community. Angela returned to the shoe shop and began to plan and pray for a new venture. In 1875, Angela and three companions founded a religious community to support the local poor and ill. Angela took the name Mother Angela of the Cross. The archbishop of Seville approved the order one year later in 1876, and two more communities were established. In the years that followed, over twenty communities sprung up all over Spain. The Sisters of the Company of the Cross continue to minister in Spain to this day. Mother Angela died on March 2, 1932, at the age of eighty-six. She was canonized by John Paul II in 2003 in Madrid. Mother Angela is a great model of perseverance in doing God's will. Despite facing obstacles, Angela continually sought to serve God, despite her own limitations.
St. Angela of the Cross, who gave her life in service to the poor—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Angela of the Cross is in the public domain. Last accessed February 4, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.