Daily Gospel Reflection
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May 20, 2022
Jesus said to his disciples:
“This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
No one has greater love than this,
to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
I no longer call you slaves,
because a slave does not know what his master is doing.
I have called you friends,
because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.
It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,
so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.
This I command you: love one another.”
Reflection
I picture the disciples gathered around Jesus near the end of his time with them. They are tense, focused, and face an uncertain and frightening future as he speaks.
Christ has told the disciples of the betrayal and torture that he will endure. The disciples know that Jesus will lay down his life for them and that, in doing so, he will suffer deeply. So when Christ says “Love one another as I have loved you,” the disciples must have swallowed hard. This is his commandment, and they will obey, but it is difficult to imagine that they embraced the future that awaited them.
As they lean in, the disciples hear Christ announce that he has chosen them as his friends.
For me, this is the most powerful moment in the reading. Jesus has shared his vulnerability with the disciples; he has been open, honest, and transparent, telling them everything he has heard from his Father. Rather than simply point to the path that the disciples must walk, Christ invites the disciples to walk with him along that path.
In identifying the disciples as his friends, Jesus changes the meaning of commandment entirely. Even though the future remains uncertain, the disciples will follow with full hearts because they know a friend is leading them.
Today, let us reflect on friendship. How have we been vulnerable with the people we love? Have we shared in the struggles of others before asking them to share in our own? How can we be sure to let our friends know that we love them?
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
St. Bernardine of Siena was such an effective and prolific preacher, the crowds who came to hear him speak would be moved to spontaneously exchange the sign of peace in mass reconciliation.
He was born in Tuscany in 1380, the son of a regional governor. His parents died when he was a child, and he was raised by a pair of aunts. He was a joyful child whom friends found entertaining and merry.
As a teenager, he dedicated his life to prayer and care of the sick. When the plague hit Siena, the biggest hospital in the city threatened to close because of the overwhelming need and the lack of help. Dozens died there every day, and many of the doctors and nurses themselves became sick.
Bernardine rallied some friends around the idea of giving their lives, if needed, to offer care for the suffering. He offered to take over the administration and care of the hospital, and was granted that authority. For four months, the band of men worked day and night to care for the sick. Even though several of them died, the group restored order and cleanliness to the hospital and gave consolation to hundreds of suffering people.
Bernardine did not get sick himself, but was exhausted by the work, and after the epidemic, he returned home to rest. He eventually discerned a call to enter a Franciscan monastery, and in 1403 he was accepted to the order and ordained a priest.
During the following decade, not much happened to Bernardine—he spent his time in prayer and doing the work of the community. His focus on maturing in his interior life would bear fruit in the preaching for which he became famous.
He began preaching in Milan, a city in which he was a complete stranger, and soon he became known for his eloquence, insight, and the energy with which he spoke. Crowds began to gather, and soon he had to preach outside to accommodate all of the people.
He began to travel throughout Italy, always on foot, and covered nearly the entire country during his lifetime. He would preach for hours at a time, sometimes more than once a day. Everywhere he went, he encouraged people to turn from sin.
The effects were extraordinary. In towns that were divided by long feuds, people were reconciled. People who had stolen or swindled goods returned them. He urged people to rely on the mercy of Jesus, and they listened.
He wore himself out with his preaching, and even when it was clear that he was dying, he continued traveling and encouraging conversion. He died in 1444, and his relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on campus.
He is patron saint of public relations professionals and advertisers, and his image is used here with permission from the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art on Notre Dame's campus—it is a sketch from Luigi Gregori, the artist commissioned to decorate the interior of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart.
St. Bernardine of Siena, because your preaching moved crowds to convert, you are the patron saint of public relations professionals—pray for us!
Image Credit: Luigi Gregori (Italian, 1819-1896), Saints Dominic, Joseph, Bernard of Siena, Margaret of Cortona, (detail) n.d., graphite and ink on paper. Raclin Murphy Museum of Art: Gift of the Artist, AA1995.082.011.