Daily Gospel Reflection
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March 7, 2025
The disciples of John approached Jesus and said,
“Why do we and the Pharisees fast much,
but your disciples do not fast?”
Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn
as long as the bridegroom is with them?
The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
and then they will fast.”
A few weeks ago, I thought I nailed the perfect activity to drive home early church history to my 16 lovely 5th graders: critical thinking questions written in large, colorful letters on chart paper. Students would walk around and write their own thoughts before our class discussion. One question asked, “How would it feel to be a disciple in the early Church?” I assumed their answers would center around fear and despair, given our recent conversations about the apostles’ grief following Jesus’ death. That was my first mistake—never assume anything when teaching 5th grade.
When I approached the chart paper to collect starting points for our discussion, I was surprised by my students’ overwhelmingly positive responses: “Joyful because I got to talk to Jesus,” “Loved by Jesus,” “Excited to tell others.” While I was initially inclined to see this as quite a teaching failure, my students’ responses challenged me to contemplate life with Christ more deeply.
Today’s gospel offers a glimpse of what the disciples might have felt during their time with Jesus. In this short exchange, Jesus implies that his presence is a reason to rejoice. He is the bridegroom. While the apostles undoubtedly experienced the grief of Jesus being taken from them, they relied on their experience with Christ—the foundational joy of our faith—to propel them forward, building the very church we now call our home.
Would that we, who, by the grace of God, will never have Jesus taken from us, carry in our hearts the same joy that Jesus—and my 5th-graders—invites us into? In moments of sorrow, may we be reminded of our eternal reason to rejoice, perhaps not in our circumstances but always in the hope that the death on the cross does not get the last word.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, in Christ’s presence is endless joy. He is the bridegroom and the church his bride. Though the risen Christ is with us always, we live in that age before his final manifestation and coming in glory. Give us faith and hope as our hearts yearn with spousal love for the bridegroom for when he will come in glory and we partake of the heavenly wedding feast. Amen.
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.