Daily Gospel Reflection
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March 21, 2019
Jesus said to the Pharisees:
“There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen
and dined sumptuously each day.
And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,
who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps
that fell from the rich man’s table.
Dogs even used to come and lick his sores.
When the poor man died,
he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham.
The rich man also died and was buried,
and from the netherworld, where he was in torment,
he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off
and Lazarus at his side.
And he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me.
Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue,
for I am suffering torment in these flames.’
Abraham replied, ‘My child,
remember that you received what was good during your lifetime
while Lazarus likewise received what was bad;
but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented.
Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established
to prevent anyone from crossing
who might wish to go from our side to yours
or from your side to ours.’
He said, ‘Then I beg you, father, send him
to my father’s house,
for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them,
lest they too come to this place of torment.’
But Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets.
Let them listen to them.’
He said, ‘Oh no, father Abraham,
but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
Then Abraham said,
‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded
if someone should rise from the dead.'”
Thanks to the astounding technological advances of the last two hundred years, we feel like we have learned more about ourselves and our universe than in the entire history of the world before us. And, maybe even more amazing than that achievement, the sum total of human knowledge is basically at our fingertips, thanks to the internet and the global economy.
These innovations have changed the world for the better in many ways. But, in an age where certainty of just about anything is only an internet search away, I sometimes find myself feeling paradoxically skeptical and uncertain about life’s deepest realities. When it’s easy to find sure proof for almost anything, I often feel a great temptation to reject what can’t be backed up with facts or hard evidence.
I understand where the rich man in today’s Gospel is coming from: he wants to save his brothers from doubt with a miraculous sign. It would be a lot simpler for me to follow Jesus with supreme confidence and to encourage others to do so if I could just see some proof. A miracle would do the job nicely!
When doubt strikes, I remind myself that I do have proof of God’s presence all around me—a text from a friend who lives across the country, a beautiful sunset during my train ride home from work, or being moved by a song I’ve never heard before.
Maybe these are less electrifying signs than a resurrection from the dead, but they’re all ordinary miracles in their own ways.
Prayer
Loving God, we ask the help of your Spirit to keep us from using our poor brothers and sisters to maintain our own comfort. Compel employers among us to provide living wages to all we employ. Constrain our greed and expand our awareness that we are all one in you, whether rich or poor. Give us the grace to do all we can to assure that the needs of all who are your special favorites—the ones who are most often ignored—are met. We ask for the compassion and justice of Jesus, your Son and Our Lord. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Blessed Maria Candida of the Eucharist is a patient and tender model of holiness whose love for God and passion for the Eucharist as the foundation of the Christian life is an inspiration. Maria Candida, born Maria Barba, became a Carmelite in Italy and devoted herself to making the Eucharist the foundation of her spiritual life.
Maria was born in January 1884 to a large Italian family in Southern Italy. She was the tenth of twelve children, although only seven survived childhood. Raised in a devout household, Maria was formed in a rich Catholic imagination. When she would greet her mother coming home from church, Maria would cry: "I want to receive God, too." Maria received her First Communion when she was ten years old, and, from that moment onward, she experienced an even greater love and devotion for the Eucharist. The young Maria hungered to receive the Eucharist frequently, and developed what she called a "vocation for the Eucharist."
Alongside this love for Christ in the Eucharist, she began to feel a deep desire for religious life, particularly after watching her cousin take religious vows. Maria's parents absolutely forbade her from following in her cousin's footsteps. Just one year before this, however, 1898, Thérèse of Lisieux's autobiography The Story of a Soul was published. Thérèse's writings became wildly popular throughout Europe and were soon translated into six different languages and disseminated throughout the continent. Maria read Thérèse's memoir and Thérèse's story inspired Maria to persist in her desire for Carmel, despite her parents' resistance.
Her father passed away in June 1904. Almost exactly ten years later, Maria's mother died. Maria mourned her parents, cared for her grieving family, and made plans to enter Carmel. She entered in September 1919, and took the name Maria Candida of the Eucharist when she received her habit in April 1920. None of her siblings attended the ceremony.
Maria Candida lived up to her new name and spent hours in prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament. Maria prolonged her allotted time of adoration, especially every Thursday, when from eleven pm to midnight she would be before the tabernacle. Not only was she enthusiastic about Eucharistic devotion, but the Eucharist was the foundation both of her spiritual life and her theological understanding of the Catholic faith. Maria's entire spiritual understanding of the world was articulated in Eucharistic terms and viewed through a Eucharistic lens. Her descriptions of the three theological virtues, the evangelical counsels she vowed to as a religious, and the role of the Virgin Mary were all grounded in the Eucharist.
For example, Maria wrote: "When I receive Jesus in Communion, Mary is always present. I want to receive Jesus from her hands, she must make me one with Him. I cannot separate Mary from Jesus. Hail, O Body born of Mary. Hail Mary, dawn of the Eucharist!"
Sr. Ann Astell, of Notre Dame's theology department, writes in her book Eating Beauty that the Eucharist is one of the primary ways for Catholics to understand beauty: "Fittingly chosen by Christ as a sign of human art, the bread becomes through consecration the appearance of Beauty itself, the sacramental form of Christ, the Word through whom God the Father created all things" (13). For Maria Candida, the Eucharist truly was the "source and summit" of the Christian life. It was her way to understand beauty, truth, and love. On the feast of Corpus Christi, 1933, Maria began writing down her meditations on the Eucharist and her own spiritual experiences in prayer. This was published as Eucharist: True Jewel of Eucharistic Spirituality in 1936.
After spending her years in Carmel in writing and in prayer, Maria Candida passed away of cancer in June 1949. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2004.
Blessed Maria Candida of the Eucharist, devoted disciple of Christ's Sacrament of Love—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of Bl. Maria Candida of the Eucharist is in the public domain. Last accessed February 6, 2025 on Get Archive.