Daily Gospel Reflection
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May 17, 2023
Jesus said to his disciples:
“I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.
But when he comes, the Spirit of truth,
he will guide you to all truth.
He will not speak on his own,
but he will speak what he hears,
and will declare to you the things that are coming.
He will glorify me,
because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.
Everything that the Father has is mine;
for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine
and declare it to you.”
During Christmas break senior year, my mom dragged me into my old high school in Texas to talk to the principal about a job. We spoke about my passion for education, but when he asked if I was interested in teaching at Saint Joseph High School, I quickly responded, “God is calling me to teach through ND’s Alliance for Catholic Education.” Fast forward to Spring Break, and I discovered I had been waitlisted for the ACE program.
When I shared the news with my mentor, she said, “Your time at Notre Dame is done. You’re crying, and Jesus is whispering, ‘Listen to me.’” This did not seem like helpful advice. I didn’t want a whisper. I wanted a declaration!
I left our meeting for the Grotto. I was alone, so I spoke my prayer out loud, “Jesus, I can’t hear you. Tell me what to do! Whispers aren’t working.” I stood up, and when I checked my phone, there was a voicemail from my high school—Saint Joseph was offering me a job.
The no I received from the Alliance for Catholic Education sent me along a pathway I never imagined. Today I fundraise to support talented scholars in under-resourced southeast Michigan high schools.
And what a blessing! My job is justice-focused, and while I never expected to live outside of Texas, I’m close to the Cleveland Clinic, where my dad now needs to fly for health care. Nearly two decades filled with joy and moments I never expected to recover from.
Wouldn’t it be nice if all messages from the Holy Spirit were as straightforward as that voicemail at the Grotto? But, when I feel overwhelmed, I simply pray the words taught to us by Father Hesburgh, “Come Holy Spirit,” and trust that the “Spirit of Truth” will guide us through it all.
Prayer
Loving God, Christ promised his disciples the gift of the Spirit, who would guide them to all truth. In these often confusing and difficult times, many “truths” are spoken. Open us up to the gifts of your Spirit to be able to discern your truth so that we may more faithfully speak it to others and embrace it more fully in our own lives. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saint of the Day

Even though he was not a priest, St. Paschal Baylon is known as the “Saint of the Eucharist.”
He was born in 1540 in Spain to a peasant family. He tended sheep until he was 24 years old. While he watched the sheep in the fields, he would spend great amounts of time in prayer. He even taught himself to read and write so that he could pray to Mary with a popular devotional book.
Paschal went barefoot through the fields and fasted; he even wore a makeshift monk's habit under his shepherd’s cloak. He attended Mass whenever he could. When he couldn’t be at Mass, he would find an outcropping where he could see the church’s steeple from his post watching the sheep, and he would kneel there in prayer and silent adoration of the Eucharist.
He joined a Franciscan community of brothers who observed a strict way of life. Paschal adopted these rigors, but was even more well-known for his virtue. He would not allow the slightest dishonesty, and those who knew him well could not recall a single fault.
As a member of the Franciscan monastery, he cultivated an ever-deeper devotion to the Eucharist. He would serve at Mass all day long if he could, and would be found spending hours kneeling in front of the tabernacle in prayer. He was always the first to arrive for Mass, and the last to leave.
Paschal was asked to carry a message to an important scholar in France, and the journey took him through a region known for its hostility to the faith. Though he was captured several times, was beaten, and narrowly escaped with his life, he was able to respond to his interrogators with faithfulness and clarity.
He served his community as a cook and doorkeeper, and was known for his charity to the poor. Though he was poorly educated, many people sought him out for his wisdom.
One of his superiors, having heard of his devotion after his death, asked for a booklet of prayers that the saint had penned in his own hand. When a fellow brother brought it to him, he said, “What are we to do? These simple souls are wresting heaven from our hands. There is nothing for it but to burn our books.” His brother said, “It is not the books that are at fault, but our own pride. Let us burn that.”
The relics of St. Paschal rest in the reliquary chapel, and his image is used here with permission from Catholic.org.
St. Paschal Baylon, the Franciscan brother known as the “Saint of the Eucharist”—pray for us!