Daily Gospel Reflection

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March 8, 2024

Friday of the Third Week of Lent
Mk 12:28-34
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One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,
“Which is the first of all the commandments?”
Jesus replied, “The first is this:
Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
The second is this:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these.”
The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher.
You are right in saying,
He is One and there is no other than he.
And to love him with all your heart,
with all your understanding,
with all your strength,
and to love your neighbor as yourself
is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding,
he said to him,
“You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”
And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Reflection

Fr. David Polich '75 M.A.
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In the fall of 1971, after graduating from Loras College, I entered Moreau Seminary at Notre Dame as a theology student from the Des Moines Diocese. I could not have had better opportunities for preparation for priesthood than what I experienced both there and at ND in the next four years.

In my initial course in homiletics, I was given today’s text from Mark for my first practice homily in class. Jesus’ Great Commandment is the core of living out our faith. On that day, I reflected on one particular priest from my college days.

Fr. Al Ede taught theology and was chaplain for a big brother and sister organization in the community. As one of the younger faculty, he had less status than his tenured elders. Nonetheless, he was the go-to person when students needed an advocate in times of crisis or need. There may have been others with more significant influence or even abilities, but he was willing to step forward for our sake despite any personal cost to himself. He poured out all he had, heart and soul, mind and strength. Others could perhaps have done more, but he did it. He’s the one who showed up.

On March 8, 1975, I was ordained a deacon in Moreau Chapel along with Richard Mazziotta, C.S.C. The music was led by choirs from the seminary and St. Augustine Parish in South Bend, where I had resided and worked for two years. When the Bishop asked the ritual question, “Do you know if they are worthy?” the priest speaking on our behalf responded, “No one is really worthy, not even bishops!” But by the grace of God, we receive Jesus’ love beyond all measure and can love others far more than we ever could believe.

Prayer

Ricky Bevington, C.S.C.

Lord God, draw us in! Draw us closer to your kingdom! Help us to understand rightly that we were made to love you and our neighbor in all we think, say, and do. May this Lent be a true season of renewal for us. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Saint of the Day

St. John of God

There were three great Spanish saints named John who were all contemporaries during the 1500s: St. John of the Cross, St. John of Avila, and St. John of God. In fact, St. John of Avila rescued today’s saint—St. John of God—from anasylum!

John of God lived a life marked by impulse. He ran away from home as a boy when he heard of adventures waiting in the New World. He never made it across the ocean, however, and enlisted in a company of mercenaries and fought in Spain’s war against France.

He lived the life of a soldier with his comrades, who enjoyed drinking, gambling, and pillaging when they could. When the band of soldiers fell apart, he worked as a shepherd until he was about 40 years old, when he began to reflect upon his life and the many things he had done wrong. He resolved to dedicate the rest of his life to God’s service.

He heard of Christians being held as slaves in Africa, and he left to do what he could to ransom them. When that did not work out, he returned to Spain and worked odd jobs, including peddling books.

One day he heard a sermon from the holy man known as John of Avila, and his words struck John of God to the heart. When he heard the homily, he was devastated over his past sins and rent his clothes, gave away everything to the poor, and ran through the streets wailing and pulling his hair out. He was committed to an asylum, and not even the severe treatments of the time brought him out of his grief.

John of Avila heard of the man’s plight and visited him in the asylum. He told John of God that he had done enough penance and should give his life to action that would benefit his own soul and the lives of others. John of God was instantly calmed and began to help care for other people in the asylum.

He eventually spread his good works to anyone who was poor and sick. He sold wood in the public square to raise money for the poor, and he sought people out from where they were living under bridges and in abandoned buildings. He would beg for those who were too sick to beg and gave everything away in service to those who were living miserable lives due to disease and poverty. He raised enough money to rent a building, which became a hospital. News of his work spread through the town and soon people were bringing donations and offering their time and energy to support his work. After his death, two religious orders emerged and continue his work today.

He was often mocked and criticized for helping anyone who needed it—even prostitutes and people of bad character. He responded by stating, “I confess that I know of no bad person in my hospital except myself alone, who am indeed unworthy to eat the bread of the poor.”

When John heard the news that a fire broke out in his hospital, he rushed to the scene to find people standing around, watching the building, and the sick inside, go up in flames. He sprang to action, running into the burning building and carrying out the sick on his own back. He made a number of trips through the flames but was not injured. A cannon was brought to destroy the part of the building that was burning in order to save the rest of it, but John stopped them and climbed to the roof and used an ax to separate the burning wing. When the walls fell away, he fell through and everyone thought him lost until he walked out of the building, unhurt. For this reason, he is the patron saint of firefighters.

In another instance of his impulsive love, he caught pneumonia when he waded into a flood trying to save a person and other supplies. He died from that illness on this date in 1550 at the age of 55. His relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.

St. John of God, impulsive lover of God, and patron saint of firefighters, hospitals, and the sick—pray for us!


Image Credit: Our featured image of St. John of God is in the public domain. Last accessed February 6, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.