Daily Gospel Reflection
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May 2, 2020
Many of the disciples of Jesus who were listening said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?”
But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, “Does this offend you? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But among you there are some who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him.
And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.”
Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”
“This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?”
This phrase might be one of the most relatable lines to come from Jesus’ disciples. Many times, I have struggled with teachings of the Church. I have thought to myself that maybe I know better than the Church. When teachings are hard, sometimes it’s easier to just say, “God knows what’s in my heart–God wouldn’t ask this of me.”
I had a professor at school who converted to Catholicism after I graduated. Many of the teachings of the Church are completely counter-cultural to what she had previously believed. I asked her how she was able to accept these teachings that she had vehemently disagreed with. She told me that she still struggled to accept many teachings, but that she prayed that God would give her the grace to be open to the truth of the Church’s teachings. I found her honesty and willingness to admit these struggles to be a true example of what it means to follow Christ, even when it’s difficult. Questioning teachings and searching for answers means that we are truly engaging with Christ and his Church. We were given free will for this- that we may freely choose to follow him.
Each of us may struggle with different teachings. But we all struggle sometimes– it’s part of being human. But these struggles can lead us closer to Christ, if we let them.
God’s plan for us is beautiful, but that does not mean that it’s always easy. We may not always understand the plan. We may never understand the plan in this life. But even in the midst of our struggles and wrestling with hard questions, God calls us to obey the teachings of the Church. It is in these hard moments that we may find the most grace. We are not called to obedience to suffer; rather we are called to obedience that we may attain eternal joy with God. Let us be like Peter, and not like the disciples who went away. Peter, who was not without struggles or doubts, but who loved the Lord wholeheartedly and turned towards him, rather than away. Let us bring our doubts and our questions, and let us go to the Lord.
Prayer
Ancient and Holy One, you never fail to teach us through the mystery of your grace acting in our midst. You beckon all who hear your voice to go out into all the world and proclaim the good news in everything we say and do. Give your people strength and perseverance through communion with our source of life, Christ your Son. May his eternal life dwell within us and bring us at last into your peaceful presence. We ask this in your holy name. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Athanasius applied his heart and mind to articulating Jesus' divinity and humanity and faced exile for his work, which helped shape the way the Church understands this mystery.
He was born in 297 in Alexandria, Egypt, at the end of the Roman persecution of Christians and at the start of the ascension of the Emperor Constantine. His parents were Christians, and he received an excellent education. He learned the Scriptures inside and out, and for a time he followed St. Anthony the Great, who established a life of prayer in the desert.
Athanasius was ordained a deacon at the age of 21 and was assigned as a secretary to the bishop of Alexandria. It was in this role as an aid to the bishop that Athanasius attended the great council of Nicea, which gave us the Nicean creed that we still recite at Mass today.
The council was called because of the rapid spread of a strain of thought—named Arianism, after its first teacher, Arius—which claimed that because Jesus was born as a man, he could not have existed before his birth, and therefore was not fully divine. The council definitively stated that Jesus was, in fact, divine, and had existed as part of the Trinity before the Incarnation. The bishops condemned Arius and articulated the creed as a standard of orthodoxy.
Shortly after the council, the bishop died, and Athanasius was appointed his successor, even though he was not even 30 years old. Arianism, despite its condemnation, was still a popular belief, and Athanasius spent most of the rest of his life dealing with that heresy.
He steadfastly proclaimed the conclusions of the council, even in the face of threats. His Arian opponents accused him of treason and even murder. Because they had connections to powerful people in the empire, they succeeded in having Athanasius removed and exiled. Political maneuvers resulted in his restoration and exile several more times—by the end of his life, he had been banished five times and spent 17 years in exile. He was a constant thorn in the side of the powerful who wanted a more convenient version of Christianity, and for this reason was called the “Champion of Orthodoxy.”
Athanasius was known as the greatest man of his day, and is one of the greatest religious leaders the world has ever known. He defended the faith when everything seemed stacked against him, and without his steadfastness, we would not have received the fullness of the faith that we have today. The Church recognizes him as one of her doctors, and his relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Sacred Heart Basilica on campus. He is depicted there in stained glass windows, including one with an image showing him faithfully handing on doctrine, in the form of a scroll, to the Church.
St. Athanasius, against all odds, you preserved and passed on the fullness of our faith in Jesus—pray for us!