Daily Gospel Reflection
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March 9, 2023
Jesus said to the Pharisees:
“There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen
and dined sumptuously each day.
And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,
who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps
that fell from the rich man’s table.
Dogs even used to come and lick his sores.
When the poor man died,
he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham.
The rich man also died and was buried,
and from the netherworld, where he was in torment,
he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off
and Lazarus at his side.
And he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me.
Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue,
for I am suffering torment in these flames.’
Abraham replied, ‘My child,
remember that you received what was good during your lifetime
while Lazarus likewise received what was bad;
but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented.
Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established
to prevent anyone from crossing
who might wish to go from our side to yours
or from your side to ours.’
He said, ‘Then I beg you, father, send him
to my father’s house,
for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them,
lest they too come to this place of torment.’
But Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets.
Let them listen to them.’
He said, ‘Oh no, father Abraham,
but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
Then Abraham said,
‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded
if someone should rise from the dead.'”
On a recent winter weekend, our family decided to explore a local ice festival. Preparing to leave, I reminded my kids of the current temperature and that this was an outdoor event.
After a mere five minutes outside, my daughter complained of being cold; she had not brought a hat or gloves. As a seasoned teacher and mom, my instinct is to let natural consequences play out in situations like these—temporary discomfort today will lead to better choices in the future. Yet God’s gentle voice in my head reminded me this was an opportunity to teach the deeper, infinitely more important lesson of compassion and sacrifice by sharing my hat and gloves.
The end of this gospel passage about Lazarus and the rich man is difficult to read because it illustrates a God committed to natural (and eternal) consequences. This starkly contrasts with the God of mercy we know through the canon of familiar gospel stories: the prodigal son, the lost sheep, and Jesus’ admonition that Peter forgive his brother not seven but seventy-seven times.
Yet we know that our God of mercy is also a God of justice. Thankfully Abraham’s words in this gospel give us reason to hope for a fate different from the rich man’s. God sent Moses and the prophets to share the Good News during his earthly life–what is God’s gentle voice saying to me in my unique time and place? What real changes can I make in my life to respond in faith?
May we take time daily to listen for God’s gentle voice in our hearts, and may the Holy Spirit grant us the courage to respond with action.
Prayer
Almighty and everliving God, open my ears that I might hear the cry of the poor and the appeal of the prophet. Free me from preoccupations and preferred status that I might humbly serve at the side of your Son, Jesus, who reveals your promise of life in every word and deed. May I welcome his presence in our midst and heed his call, for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Though he died when he was just 15 years old, St. Dominic Savio displayed a remarkable depth of humanity and holiness. He is one of the youngest non-martyr saints to be canonized by the Church.
He was born in Italy in 1842 to a peasant family and, even as a young boy, had a desire to become a priest. St. John Bosco was fostering vocations among young men who might one day become priests to help him in his work with wayward boys. He took Dominic, aged 12, into his care and training at an oratory that John founded in Turin.
Dominic had clear sight of what was right and wrong and acted decisively. When he received his first Communion, he adopted a personal motto: "Death, but not sin!" He would often slip away from the playground during a recess to make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament.
One time, he broke up a fight between two boys who were ready to beat each other with stones by holding up a crucifix between them. “Before you fight, look at this,” he said. “Say, ‘Jesus Christ was sinless and he died forgiving his executioners. I am a sinner, and I am going to outrage him by being deliberately revengeful.’ Then you can start, and throw your first stone at me.”
Though he was strictly observant of rules, Dominic was also quick to laugh, which sometimes got him into trouble with his superiors. He was also a great storyteller, which endeared him to younger boys especially.
John Bosco led the boys in a healthy and balanced spirituality, insisting on cheerfulness, playfulness, and attentiveness to duties. Dominic followed his lead—he would often say, “I can’t do big things. But I want all I do, even the smallest thing, to be for the greater glory of God.”
John Bosco wrote the biography of Dominic himself and took special care to write only what he had observed himself. He recorded Dominic’s spiritual gifts judiciously, including his supernatural knowledge of people in need or his insight into the future. For example, one time Dominic asked John to follow him into the city. Dominic led the priest to an apartment building, rang on a door, and promptly left. The door was answered by a man who was dying and had just been asking for a priest so he could make his last confession.
Dominic would often get caught up in rapturous prayer—to the point that he would lose track of time or get lost in the experience. On one occasion, he was found standing in the same position in prayer for six hours, thinking that the Mass he had been at had not yet ended. He called them his “distractions,” saying, “It seems as though heaven is opening just above me. I am afraid I may say or do something that will make the other boys laugh.”
Dominic was in poor health, and he was sent home from the oratory in Turin for some fresh air. Doctors diagnosed him with inflammation of the lungs and bled him, according to the practice of the time. Dominic's health slowly declined and received the anointing of the sick before dying on this date in 1857. Just before he died, he sat up and said these last words, “I am seeing the most wonderful things!”
Though many objected to such a young person being held up as a saint, Pope St. Pius X, who began the canonization process for Dominic, said, “A teenager such as Dominic, who bravely struggled to keep his innocence from Baptism to the end of his life, is really a saint.” St. Dominic’s relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.
St. Dominic Savio, young teenage saint and visionary—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Dominic Savio is in the public domain. Last accessed February 6, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
