Daily Gospel Reflection
Join the Notre Dame family of faith. Receive God’s Word and a unique reflection in your inbox each day.
May 18, 2019
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.”
Tomorrow my daughter Meg graduates from Notre Dame. Like scores of parents, grandparents, family and friends at graduation ceremonies across the country, my wife Margaret and I will listen to speeches musing about endings and beginnings. We will feel joy and anxiety because graduations are a celebration of the past and a bracing for the future.
Like countless others during this “graduation season,” Margaret and I wish that there was a roadmap that would guide Meg easily through life. Wouldn’t it be nice if all graduates—and each of us, really—had a simple blue print for how to best live today and every day?
Today’s Gospel reading provides one roadmap. “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.” This Gospel reminds us that we are called to imitate Christ. But how? Jesus calls us to do “the works that I do.” Jesus performs a variety of “works”—healing lepers, feeding crowds, raising the dead—but the unifying theme I see is Jesus generously giving himself—his power, his wisdom, his love—to others.
This feels like a perfectly appropriate message for graduation. Hopefully all graduates have examples in their life of family members, friends, and teachers who have imitated Christ’s works of self-giving love. Parents have driven them to practice in early morning darkness, friends have offered supportive words during bright and busy days, and teachers have burned midnight oil writing letters of recommendation and grading exams.
Jesus promises that greater works are within each of us. We achieve that greatness when we freely and repeatedly give of ourselves to others. I hope that Meg, and all of us, will always find direction and purpose in that roadmap.
Prayer
God of all wisdom and grace, fill us with zeal to proclaim the truth of our faith wherever your Spirit leads us. Give us courage and determination to live out our faith in a challenging world. May our lives reflect your radiance as you lead us into your promise of everlasting life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Venantius is the patron saint of the Italian town of Camerino.
He was an early Christian martyr put to death during the reign of the emperor Decius (249-251 AD). Venantius was martyred with ten other Christians, but before he was killed, Venantius was scourged, burned badly by being torched and hung upside-down over a fire, and was thrown to hungry lions. Venantius, however, remained untouched throughout the entire ordeal. Some legends say that he was tossed off a cliff, Venantius apparently survived that as well, and crawled to the town of Camerino to escape his persecutors.
Finally, his torturers found that the only way they could kill Venantius was to crucify him. They crucified him upside down.
Despite his gruesome story, Venantius became a popular saint in the town of Camerino. A basilica named after him was built in Camerino in the fifth century. Locals began to pray to Venantius for cures from anything from leprosy to peptic ulcers.
Venantius became Camerino’s patron saint: his face began to be stamped on their coins, and the residents of Camerino risked their lives during the sacking of Camerino by Sicilians in 1259 to save his relics.
Venantius is still a beloved local saint and an excellent reminder of who saints are to us and to all the Church: local men and women—our neighbors, small nobodies from our towns and villages, whose witness of love and faith leave marks on the places they lived for centuries to come.
St. Venantius of Camerino, brave martyr of the early church—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Venantius of Camerino is in the public domain. Modified from the original. Last accessed February 21, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
