Daily Gospel Reflection
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May 17, 2019
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled.
You have faith in God; have faith also in me.
In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.
If there were not,
would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back again and take you to myself,
so that where I am you also may be.
Where I am going you know the way.”
Thomas said to him,
“Master, we do not know where you are going;
how can we know the way?”
Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.”
During his last meal on Earth, immediately after revealing that Judas would betray him and Peter would deny him, Christ challenges his apostles to follow where he goes. Thomas responds, very humanly, asking for an explanation. Thank God for Thomas—he is all of us.
When Thomas asks, “How can we know the way?” Christ reminds him and the other apostles of what he has shown them during their time together—“I am the way and the truth and the life.” Throughout the Gospel, Christ has shown he is “the way” through his preaching, through his miracles, through his witness of love. Although Thomas was certainly paying attention to Christ throughout their travels together, he still does not understand Christ’s words because their meaning is beyond human comprehension.
Faith is the virtue of believing, even when we do not understand. Just as Doubting Thomas is the apostle known for seeking proof, John is the apostle known for faith. Later in John’s Gospel, on Easter morning, we follow John’s walk to the empty tomb of Christ after the Resurrection where “he saw and believed.” We are called to imitate John’s faith in the great mystery of Easter and to believe, even when we do not understand.
Today’s Gospel reminds us that although we are Thomas, we are striving prayerfully to become the Beloved Disciple John.
Prayer
No one knows the troubles we suffer, dear Lord, and sometimes our lives are hard to bear. Help us to trust in your consoling words, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” You know the depth of all people’s suffering and still you offered yourself on the cross to save us from ourselves, our pride, our self-centeredness. May the Spirit who raised you from the dead raise us up to serve others in their needs today. Alleluia!
Saint of the Day
There are two early Christian martyrs with the name Restituta, and the relics of one of them rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Notre Dame's campus. We know very little for certain about either of these saints—both martyrs had legends spring up about their lives.
Restituta of Carthage was martyred either in 255 or 304 (the record is unclear). In medieval times, a legend arose that described Restituta being tortured, then placed on a flaming barge and released into the Mediterranean sea. She drifted away on this flaming barge, but remained unharmed, as she prayed to God to save and guide her. The barge with her body in it was discovered on the coast of an island near Naples, Italy. Today, her relics are kept in the cathedral at Naples, and her feast day is May 17.
Restituta of Sora was a Roman noblewoman who was martyred in 271 in Sora, Italy. Legend tells of her travelling from Rome to Sora, where she healed a leper and converted 39 people to the faith. When the authorities heard of her activity, they arrested her and tried to force her to sacrifice to the Roman gods. She refused and was tortured and imprisoned. An angel helped her escape, but she and several people who she converted were caught and beheaded.
In both cases, we do know that two women, both named Restituta, were willing to die for their faith rather than conform to the culture around them.
St. Restituta, the early Christian martyr who preferred faithfulness to death, pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Restituta is available for use under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported. Last accessed February 21, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
