Daily Gospel Reflection
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May 15, 2019
Jesus cried out and said,
“Whoever believes in me believes not only in me
but also in the one who sent me,
and whoever sees me sees the one who sent me.
I came into the world as light,
so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness.
And if anyone hears my words and does not observe them,
I do not condemn him,
for I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world.
Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words
has something to judge him: the word that I spoke,
it will condemn him on the last day,
because I did not speak on my own,
but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and speak.
And I know that his commandment is eternal life.
So what I say, I say as the Father told me.”
As a single thirty-something, I’ve enjoyed the unique privilege of living with a family this past year. My gracious hosts and wonderful friends have three young girls. One of the most beautiful gifts of my time with them has been witnessing parental love up close, day after day. I’m constantly impressed by my friends’ gentleness while disciplining their children. Their strategy might be best described as allowing reality to teach their daughters.
Dinner is a particularly apt classroom of reality. The two older girls are great eaters at lunch and breakfast, but when it comes time for dinner, there are often few bites and many complaints. Refusing to eat dinner often means a hungry stomach later that night, a connection they’re slowly learning to make. My friends certainly remind their daughters of this fact of life but never chastise them. My friends encourage their daughters to eat dinner to prevent hunger later, but never condemn them.
I am so grateful that Jesus, like my friends, is such a gentle teacher of reality. I’m sure my petty, habitual sins, and lukewarmness would exasperate a teacher. But Jesus does not condemn me. Rather, he allows reality to teach me. When I live my life according to my own plans, I find myself condemned by my own lack of joy. The reality that Jesus speaks—the promise of beatitude and life with God—condemns my own machinations for happiness as an illusion.
Yet after each failing, each refusal to listen to his word, Jesus still comes to save me. He saves me from the hungry stomach caused me by my stubbornness, and continues to fill me with joy that springs from intimacy with God.
Prayer
O God, strengthen our faith in your presence to us, especially through the Word of Scripture and the sacraments of your Church. May our belief in you reveal itself in our goodness to others, especially in ways of sacrifice and service. We ask all this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen!
Saint of the Day
In the 13th century, two ancient marble tombs were discovered in a city near Antwerp, Belgium. Buried inside were the bodies of two saints: St. Dymphna and St. Gerebernus.
When the relics of these two saints became known to the city, a number of healings were attributed to their intercession. Those suffering from epilepsy and mental illness suddenly found health through prayer to these saints.
Little is known of these saints, so popular belief filled in their history. It is thought that Dymphna was daughter to an Irish tribal king and a Christian princess, who baptized the girl and raised her as a Christian.
When Dymphna was a teenager, her mother died, leaving her father beside himself with grief. He searched the civilized world for a woman who looked like his deceased wife, but found none. Dymphna’s own beauty reminded him of his wife, and he made an advance upon Dymphna, but she escaped.
Her spiritual advisor was an old priest and family friend named Gerebernus. He advised her to leave the country, so together they fled to Belgium and found a small chapel near Antwerp. They decided to live there, both adopting a life of solitude and prayer.
They did not know that Dymphna’s father was pursuing them. He searched the countryside for his daughter, and finally caught wind of where she might be hiding. He discovered them and tried to convince them to return to Ireland. When they refused, he killed both Dymphna and Gerebernus.
The relics of St. Dymphna rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Notre Dame's campus.
St. Dymphna, patron saint of those who suffer from mental illness—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Dymphna is an illustration by Notre Dame alumnus Matthew Alderman '06, who holds exclusive rights to the further distribution and publication of his art. Used here with permission.