Daily Gospel Reflection

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May 2, 2023

Memorial of Saint Athanasius - Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Jn 10:22-30
Listen to the Audio Version

The feast of the Dedication was taking place in Jerusalem.
It was winter.
And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon.
So the Jews gathered around him and said to him,
“How long are you going to keep us in suspense?
If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
Jesus answered them, “I told you and you do not believe.
The works I do in my Father’s name testify to me.
But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep.
My sheep hear my voice;
I know them, and they follow me.
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.
No one can take them out of my hand.
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,
and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.
The Father and I are one.”

Reflection

Erich Fang '22
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Why is God so quiet? This may seem like a strange question to ask, but consider it. The Creator of the universe could manifest to all like a supernova in the skies or speak to every person on Earth at once. If God wants us all to believe, why not do something spectacular?

We can’t know God’s ways, but we do know our own. The Bible knows them, too. During Lent, we recalled the Exodus narrative. We watched God send the plagues upon Egypt, part the Red Sea, and lead the people with a pillar of fire.

Despite these miracles, the Israelites doubted the saving power of God, built a golden calf to worship, and wished to return to Egypt, where the food was better. Even the people in today’s gospel see Jesus’ signs and still do not believe, demanding that Christ no longer keep them in suspense.

This might make us wonder why God even bothers. After all, we, too, in the present, love to explain away the clear miracles that happen in our lives. But God remains quietly with us, waiting and listening.

We assume that God’s miracles can take the place of an intimate, daily relationship. But Jesus never says that the sheep follow the shepherd because of marvelous deeds or the shepherd’s great power. The shepherd simply knows them well, and they hear his voice—not a relationship of seeing proof or feeling fear but one of intimate trust and love, the love that brought God to us to share in our lives.

As we continue to celebrate the resurrection of Christ, the surest miracle is that the Creator of all humanity and the Son of God are always speaking to us, everyday, in the silence of our hearts.

Prayer

Members of the Holy Cross Novitiate

Christ our Good Shepherd, you tirelessly seek out the lost, and you give strength to the weary sinner. In your unfathomable mercy, you never cease to pour out blessings upon those who despair of finding you. Help us to extend this same spirit of consolation to our brothers and sisters in need, and may we always imitate your example of tender care towards the poor. We ask this in your name. Amen.

Saint of the Day

St. Athanasius of Alexandria

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!