Daily Gospel Reflection
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May 17, 2025
Jesus said to his disciples:
“If you know me, then you will also know my Father.
From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
Philip said to Jesus,
“Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time
and you still do not know me, Philip?
Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?
The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own.
The Father who dwells in me is doing his works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me,
or else, believe because of the works themselves.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes in me will do the works that I do,
and will do greater ones than these,
because I am going to the Father.
And whatever you ask in my name, I will do,
so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.”
As I read this passage, I could not help feeling Jesus’ incredulity and frustration that Philip, and perhaps the other apostles and disciples, did not understand him. With only a little time left on earth, he wants his followers not only to understand, but to know him and his Father. Consistent with being a loving and tolerant shepherd, Jesus repeats the message a few times to help things sink in. I imagine, still, even after all of these words, he may have been met with looks of confusion and bewilderment. Jesus finally tells them to believe because of the works they have witnessed themselves.
I have been fortunate and blessed to witness multiple examples of Jesus’ works in my life. One of my sons was taken home to God when he was 18 because of a freak accident. At that point in my life, I admit I did not have a close relationship with God. Despite that, I physically felt God lifting me up, wrapped in grace all around me, moving me forward in the days and years after my son’s death.
These actions on the part of Jesus were an overwhelming experience, and as a result, I am much closer to Jesus now and continue to experience his good works in my life today. Like Philip, I missed understanding and knowing Jesus until I saw and felt the works and actions of God. This passage reminds us that Jesus is always nearby, calling us to a closer relationship with God through him. It is up to us to call on him.
May the Holy Spirit guide us to see and trust what God reveals to us and, in doing so, strengthen us to do his good works.
Prayer
Almighty and Eternal God, in you we live, move, and have our being. In you alone, we find security, safety, and peace. On this Armed Forces Day, we commend to your keeping all our men and women who serve in our military forces: the Army, the Navy, the Marines, the Air Force, the Coast Guard, and the Space Force. Bless them, and may they always know our gratitude for their service to our country. We pray for those who face danger and put their lives at risk so that we might live in safety. Defend them by your heavenly power and keep them always in your loving care. Grant 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, 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.
St. Paschal Baylon, the Franciscan brother known as the “Saint of the Eucharist”—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Paschal Baylon is in the public domain. Last accessed March 11, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
