Daily Gospel Reflection
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March 23, 2020
At that time Jesus left Samaria for Galilee. For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in the prophet’s own country. When he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, since they had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the festival; for they too had gone to the festival.
Then he came again to Cana in Galilee where he had changed the water into wine. Now there was a royal official whose son lay ill in Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.
Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my little boy dies.”
Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way. As he was going down, his slaves met him and told him that his child was alive. So he asked them the hour when he began to recover, and they said to him, “Yesterday at one in the afternoon the fever left him.”
The father realized that this was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he himself believed, along with his whole household. Now this was the second sign that Jesus did after coming from Judea to Galilee.
“Go; your son will live.”
As a parent of three children and I have learned to ask Jesus to watch over my children since I cannot be with them at every moment of their lives. We have created devices today that help take away our fears and prevent us from deepening our faith in God. For my eighty-year-old mother, we purchased the Apple watch equipped with fall detection and heart monitoring. For my teenager driving away in a car without me, the Life360 app can track her every movement. It was when my teenager refused to put that app on her phone that I realized I had to stop. I was guilty of falling into the trap of finding solutions for my worries without recognizing God’s presence. I recognize that I desired a sign, a notification from an app, or something concrete in order to be reassured that my loved ones were safe. I wanted to believe that they were in God’s protection, but I had doubts and I was not willing to surrender.
We struggle to believe that God is with us in the darkest most frightful moments. This surrender to God is an act of faith. In the gospel, the father believed Jesus could save his son if only he were physically present, but he could not fully understand Jesus’ true salvation for us all. Jesus tells him, “Go and your son will live.” Jesus was teaching the parent something more when he healed his son. The true Christ is Emmanuel, “God with Us.” Jesus was already dwelling with the sick child, and with all of us, through his incarnation. Jesus came to give us his abundant life.
We need to download into our hearts a new app, the GodisWithUs app. Today is the feast day of St. Toribio Alfonso de Mogrovejo who is a saint who died receiving communion on his deathbed casting all fears aside stating, “I rejoice in the things that were said to me:’ We shall go into the house of the Lord.’” May we ask God to give us the courage to let go of our fears and believe in eternal life.
Prayer
Lord, hear those who call out for healing of body, mind, and spirit. May we unite with the sufferings of our brothers and sisters as they call out for your healing. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Toribio Alfonso de Mogrovejo was a 16th century Spanish missionary to the new world who defended the rights of Latin American natives.
He was born to a noble family in Spain, and capitalized on a very good education by studiously developing a sharp intellect. He went on to teach law at the famous University of Salamanca. His virtue and wisdom led him to appointments from the king, and he was ordained a priest.
In 1578, he was sent to Peru and named Archbishop of Lima. He often traveled throughout the immense diocese on foot, engaging anyone he met. He learned the local dialects in order to converse with the native people there—he instructed and baptized them. He traveled alone and was exposed to extreme weather, wild animals, tropical diseases, and even threats from hostile tribes.
He was a powerful voice for reform in the new world. The conquistadores exploited the indigenous people, and the clergy were often complicit in this oppression. He was known as a staunch defender of the rights of natives against the Spanish settlers, and though he met powerful opposition from Spanish governors in Peru, he persisted in his advocacy.
In Peru, he built roads and churches, schools, and hospitals, and opened the first seminary in the western hemisphere. It is said he welcomed 500,000 people into the Church in Peru, and among those he confirmed were St. Rose of Lima and St. Martin de Porres.
He died on this date in 1606 from a fever. Relics of one saint named Turibius rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica on campus.
St. Toribio Alfonso de Mogrovejo, who defended indigenous people from Spanish conquistadores—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Toribio Alfonso de Mogrovejo is in the public domain. Last accessed February 6, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
