Daily Gospel Reflection
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March 3, 2023
Jesus said to his disciples:
“I tell you,
unless your righteousness surpasses that
of the scribes and Pharisees,
you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.
“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors,
You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.
But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother
will be liable to judgment,
and whoever says to his brother, Raqa,
will be answerable to the Sanhedrin,
and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna.
Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar,
and there recall that your brother
has anything against you,
leave your gift there at the altar,
go first and be reconciled with your brother,
and then come and offer your gift.
Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court.
Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge,
and the judge will hand you over to the guard,
and you will be thrown into prison.
Amen, I say to you,
you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.”
At the beginning of today’s gospel, Jesus’ words are understandable but outside our standard frame of reference. “Righteousness surpassing that of the scribes and Pharisees” and a reminder that “you shall not kill” are not things that most of us think about daily.
Then Jesus touches on what we all experience: disagreement and conflict. We are told to “leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother.”
I often find this hard to enact, but this message seems all the more appropriate for this first week of Lent. As Jesus tells us to reconcile our conflicts, we prepare to watch Jesus endure the greatest betrayal in history, resulting in his crucifixion and death. Yet he forgave with his last breath. Shouldn’t we do the same?
By conquering sin and death through his subsequent resurrection, Jesus demonstrated that he is the way, the truth, and the life. He shows us in word and deed that he is true God and true man. So, maybe we should follow his advice?
I remember in my youth that whenever I worked on a project with my Dad, we always seemed to argue. As I got older, I realized the real conflict. I always insisted on doing things my way, and Dad always insisted on doing them right. My Dad was trying to prepare me for more significant things in life.
This is also the core of Jesus’ message to us—to do things the right way, his way, even if, at the moment, it doesn’t make much sense to us.
So as we begin our Lenten journey this week, let us remember that while Jesus teaches us how to live our lives in him to achieve eternal life, he never asks us to do anything that he did not first do himself.
Prayer
Lord, you know all too well that it is so easy for us to hold on to resentments, to live with anger even at the slightest of offenses. Help us to forgive and reconcile with each other, so that we may come to know and accept your mercy in our lives and extend that same mercy to others. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Katharine Drexel voluntarily stepped beyond her privileged upper-class life in Philadelphia to encounter and heal the suffering she saw in America. She is the second American-born Catholic saint.
She was born 1858 to a family of wealth—her father was an investment banker, and her uncle founded Drexel University. Her mother died giving birth to Katharine’s sister, and the girls were sent to live with an aunt and uncle for two years. They returned to her father’s home when he re-married.
Despite their wealth, Katharine’s parents did not allow their girls a sheltered life. The family traveled widely, and Katharine saw much of the emerging American nation as well as Europe. Three days a week, their home was opened to feed the hungry and serve the poor with clothing and rental assistance. If they heard of a widow who was too proud to come to them, they quietly sought her out to offer their support.
When Katharine’s stepmother fell ill from a terminal illness, Katharine nursed her, and began to understand that no fortune could save a person from pain or death.
She was particularly moved by the plight of Native Americans and African Americans, and on a trip to Europe, she had the chance to greet Pope Leo XIII. She asked him to send missionaries to help Native Americans in Wyoming. He replied, “Why don’t you become a missionary?” This response shocked her and helped her open up new possibilities as to how to spend her life.
She very easily could have married, but after discernment and spiritual direction, she decided to dedicate her life to serving Native American and African American people. Her decision made big news in the elite social circles of Philadelphia; newspapers wondered how she could walk away from married life and an inheritance worth more than $100 million in today's dollars—to serve poor people.
Katharine founded a religious order of nuns—the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament—to serve people marginalized by American society. They began with a boarding school in Santa Fe, and by 1942, they were running schools and mission centers for black children in thirteen states and ministering to Native Americans in fifteen states. In 1915, Katharine opened Xavier University in New Orleans, the first Roman Catholic university in the nation that accepted black students.
Segregationists were not happy with her efforts and burned a school in Pennsylvania. A stick of dynamite was discovered at another mission site. In 1922, the Ku Klux Klan threatened a school the sisters had opened in Beaumont, Texas, but a few days later, a severe thunderstorm devastated the area and tore down the Klan’s headquarters there.
When she was 77, Katharine suffered a heart attack and was forced to retire. Many thought the foundress was near the end of her life, but she lived for nearly two more decades. This last period of life was intensely focused on prayer and meditation.
St. Katharine Drexel was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2000. Along with her story, the illustration featured today is used by high school students who come to campus for a summer conference with the Notre Dame Vision program.
St. Katharine Drexel, who gave her great wealth to serve America's marginalized—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Katharine Drexel is an illustration by Julie Lonneman, who holds exclusive rights to the further distribution and publication of her art. Used with permission.