Daily Gospel Reflection
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March 20, 2020
One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?”
Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and 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.”
Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other’; and ‘to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’ and ‘to love one’s neighbor as oneself,’—this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that no one dared to ask him any question.
Just one week ago, news broke that an NBA player was diagnosed with coronavirus. And then, one after another, big-time sporting events were canceled or postponed across the country, including the NBA season, March Madness, and the PGA Tour. And so began the frequent comment around my workplace: “What am I going to watch on TV now?”
As a society, we have become so attached to our sports and entertainment that we have made it our love, and it occupies much of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. But, today’s gospel calls us to turn away from our worldly attachments and instead devote our heart, soul, mind and strength completely to loving our Lord. Lent is a great time to take note of where we are weak in giving all our love to God and to strive to put Christ back as our one and only attachment. Sometimes that requires us to detach from the things of this world like sports and entertainment, Instagram, sweets, or even going out to eat. It may be helpful to ask ourselves: “What in this world am I attached to that is preventing me from loving Christ to the fullest?” Once we get rid of the attachment to all the unnecessary things, we can start to attach ourselves to Christ and truly learn to love him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
Of course, when we love God with our entire being, we can then let go of our selfish desires and truly love our neighbor as ourselves, fulfilling God’s most important commandments. So, perhaps the forced absence of televised sports will move our minds back to God and give us more time to focus on our neighbor. In that way, we will be moving a little closer to the Kingdom of God.
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
María Josefa was born in 1842, the eldest daughter of a large Spanish Catholic family. Her father died at a young age, leaving her mother responsible for the family well-being. María was sent to Madrid to live with wealthy relatives while receiving an education.
María's mother was religious and had trained her young daughter in the Catholic faith, but was surprised to find María return from Madrid at the age of eighteen insisting on joining a convent. María felt on fire for a religious vocation and kept begging her mother for permission to enter. María joined the Institute of the Servants of Mary, but soon felt uncertain about whether she had chosen the right path. After speaking with various confessors and praying with her uncertainty, she left the Institute.
María had felt the call to establish her own order.
In 1871, at the age of twenty-nine, María Josefa founded the Servants of Jesus of Charity, that focused on caring for Christ in the least of his people—the children, sick, elderly, and the poor. When she became the order's first superior she took the name María Josefa of the Heart of Jesus. Her order has spread all over the European and Spanish-speaking world—today, the Servants of Jesus of Charity have houses in Chile, Colombia, France and the Dominican Republic.
María Josefa was devoted to the Sacred Heart, and saw her and her sisters' work with the sick and suffering as participating in Christ's redemptive sufferings. And this kindness they offered to others was a foretaste of heaven. She wrote to her sisters:
“The charity and mutual love constitute even in this life the paradise of the community. Without cross we cannot live wherever we go, because the religious life is a life of sacrifice and of abnegation. The foundation of greatest perfection is the fraternal charity."
On March 20, 1912, María Josefa passed away, just short of seventy years old. She was canonized by Pope John Paul II in the Jubilee Year of 2000, on October 1.
St. María Josefa Sancho de Guerra, founder of the Servants of Jesus of Charity—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. St. María Josefa Sancho de Guerra is in the public domain. Last accessed February 6, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
