Daily Gospel Reflection
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May 12, 2026
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Now I am going to the one who sent me,
and not one of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’
But because I told you this, grief has filled your hearts.
But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go.
For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you.
But if I go, I will send him to you.
And when he comes he will convict the world
in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation:
sin, because they do not believe in me;
righteousness, because I am going to the Father
and you will no longer see me;
condemnation, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.”
Excerpts from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, second typical edition © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. Used with permission. All rights reserved. No portion of this text may be reproduced by any means without permission in writing from the copyright owner. The full readings of the day from the Lectionary are available here.
I’m going to go ahead and assume that you love Jesus. After all, he did die on the cross, specifically for you. I love Jesus, too. So that’s good: we both love Jesus. Now, with that love in our hearts, let’s place ourselves with the disciples today. What does Jesus tell us?
“I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go.”
Whoa, hold on. That doesn’t sound fun. When someone we love leaves us, our feelings generally range from deeply sad to heart-wrenchingly sorrowful. What’s going on? Why is it better for you to leave us, Jesus?
Because “if I go, I will send [the Advocate] to you.”
Okay, okay. But who is this Advocate? Jesus says that this mysterious Person will convict us of sin, righteousness, and condemnation. Oh gosh. How on earth is that better than having Jesus with us? Well, this mysterious Person is also the most precious gift that the Father and the Son desire to give us. What’s all this about conviction, then?
Sometimes, to receive a gift, we have to let go of something else. The Advocate will convict us to drop everything that holds us back from God, to empty our hearts of sin. Okay, fine. But still, why does Jesus have to go? I think it’s because Jesus wants more than an earthly friendship with us. He wants divine intimacy. And to give us more love, our hearts have to be opened, stretched all the way to heaven.
We love Jesus, and we want to love him more. The only way to love God better is with the very love of God, who is the Holy Spirit, this mysterious Advocate. Today, let Jesus stretch your heart to fill you with even more of his love.
Prayer
Jesus, you tell us that the ruler of the world has no power over you. Oh, to have that freedom! We are too enslaved by appearances, the expectations of others, and it wears down our spirits. Loving God our Father, doing God’s will, and knowing that we are beloved of you and the Father—ah—there is true peace. May we have more of your peace and less of the world’s in our lives. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Sts. Nereus and Acheilleus were soldiers in the Roman army who were killed for refusing to participate further in persecuting Christians.
The Church has long honored these two saints, and the only certain history we have about them comes from an inscription that was placed above their tomb by Pope St. Damasus. Though it has worn away, we have records of what it said from pilgrims who visited their tomb and copied down the inscription. It describes the two soldiers who followed orders to persecute and kill Christians until they followed the truth they saw in Christ:
“The martyrs Nereus and Achilleus had enrolled themselves in the army and exercised the cruel office of carrying out the orders of the tyrant, being ever ready through the constraint of fear to obey his will. O miracle of faith! Suddenly they cease from their fury, they become converted, they fly from the camp of their wicked leader; they throw away their shields, their armor, and their blood-stained javelins. Confessing the faith of Christ, they rejoice to bear testimony to its triumph. Learn now from the words of Damasus what great things the glory of Christ can accomplish.”
We do not know how the two were martyred, though they were probably beheaded because they were Roman citizens. We can suppose that they, more than most Christians of the day, knew what consequences they would face because of their profession of faith.
A later legend arose about these two martyrs, which stated that they served Domitilla, the grand-niece of the emperor who was exiled for professing her faith. It is likely that this story is inaccurate, though, and simply comes from the fact that they were buried in a cemetery named after Domitilla.
Relics of these two martyrs do rest in reliquary chapel of the Basilica, however. They are depicted here with Domitilla, who used to be listed as a saint, but was removed due to a lack of historical evidence.
Sts. Nereus and Acheilleus, you were martyred for refusing to follow orders to kill Christians—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of Sts. Nereus and Acheilleus is in the public domain. Last accessed March 6, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
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