Daily Gospel Reflection
Join the Notre Dame family of faith. Receive God’s Word and a unique reflection in your inbox each day.
March 7, 2019
Jesus said to his disciples:
“The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected
by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised.”
Then he said to all,
“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself
and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world
yet lose or forfeit himself?”
“I have come to bring not peace but the sword.”
When I was younger, I loved playing with a set of toy swords. Other people were surprised that my two older sisters and I could be enthralled by PVC pipes covered in a pool noodle and duct tape, but we loved them. We would spend hours practicing our battle cries, dueling, and carrying these unwieldy toys around as we made treks to battlegrounds around our house.
This imaginary, harmless sword is what I first picture when I hear that Jesus came to bring the sword. I shy away from the power and the danger that the mention of a weapon implies. Perhaps I also turn away from the strength and the glory that Jesus promises. I might disregard the image of a warrior Jesus because it doesn’t fit with my personal experience in prayer, but, because of that, I lose the good news of the sword. What is the “good news of the sword”? That there is truly new life in Christ.
Of all the prayers that are part of my daily litany, the simple prayer of “Lord, grant me peace in my heart” is the most consistent. I desire peace to settle my heart, peace for decisions and anxieties, peace for the ability to rest well, etc. Yet right here, Jesus tells me, “I have come to bring not peace.” Perhaps, rather than grant me peace within my worldly worries, Jesus desires to extricate me from them. Perhaps instead of constantly praying for peace, I can begin praying for the willingness to be cut from my old life by the Sword of Salvation and trust that, in losing that life, I will find a new life in him.
Prayer
Jesus, my Lord, all too often we define ourselves by what we have or what we do, instead of who we are. All I will have left is me – and you. Oh Jesus, I wish I valued you as much as I value other things or people in my life. During these 40 days let your words change me: “What does it profit them if they gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit themselves?”
Saint of the Day
Saints Felicity and Perpetua were famous martyrs from the early Church—they are the saints who appear the most on ancient lists of saints and calendars for veneration. In fact, their story was read publicly in the churches of North Africa, and the great St. Augustine himself had to clarify for his people that these accounts were not of the same stature as Scripture, which indicates just how important people found their story.
Carthage in 203 was a Roman city and enforced the persecution of Christians who failed to worship the image of the emperor, which was a hallmark of the imperial religion. Five catechumens were arrested, and among them were a slave, Felicity, who was pregnant, and Perpetua, who was 22 years old, wife of a well-to-do citizen, and mother of a young child herself. The catechist who had taught these people who were seeking baptism was not arrested but turned himself in because he did not want them to suffer alone.
The Christians were tried and gave witness to their faith by refusing to honor the Roman gods. They were all condemned to execution, except for Felicity—Roman law prevented the execution of any woman who was pregnant. Felicity, however, wanted to join her fellow Christians with the witness of her life and gave birth in prison during her eighth month. The child survived and was adopted by the Christian community of the city.
Perpetua’s child was still nursing at the time of her arrest, and she received permission to have him join her in prison. He weaned before her execution and was raised by her family.
The group was taken to a stadium and killed by wild beasts in front of soldiers on a Roman holiday. Felicity and Perpetua faced a bull, who wounded them but did not kill them. The crowd called for their death by sword, and they exchanged a sign of peace before being killed.
The relics of these two martyrs rest in the reliquary chapel and their story and images are used by high school students who come to campus for a summer conference with the Notre Dame Vision program.
Sts. Felicity and Perpetua, the mothers who faced your martyrdom with courage that inspired faith in others—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of Sts. Felicity and Perpetua is an illustration by Julie Lonneman, who holds exclusive rights to the further distribution and publication of her art. Used with permission.