Daily Gospel Reflection

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May 20, 2023

Saturday of the Sixth Week of Easter
Jn 16:23b-28
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Jesus said to his disciples:
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.
Until now you have not asked anything in my name;
ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

“I have told you this in figures of speech.
The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures
but I will tell you clearly about the Father.
On that day you will ask in my name,
and I do not tell you that I will ask the Father for you.
For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me
and have come to believe that I came from God.
I came from the Father and have come into the world.
Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”

Reflection

Sandy Carna Rader '94, M.B.A.
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My mother was a woman of strong faith. She believed deeply in the word of God and the Holy Spirit. I remember her attending Mass daily when I was a child. She always had her rosary and prayed silently when we were in the car. Her daily prayer books became so tattered from years of use, she had me take pictures of each page and load them on her iPad. She never went a day without saying them—until she suffered a stroke and was then too weak to read.

She passed away one year ago today. I am honored and touched to reflect on this passage from John on such an important day (one of those small acts of God that we can mistake for coincidence if we’re not paying attention).

This passage, in particular, reflects so much about her life. She would often say that God always answered her prayers. As her children and grandchildren, we believed this and felt she had a direct line to God. We would often ask her to pray for things needed in our lives, whether it be a grandchild who was sick or an important activity that we wanted to go exceedingly well.

“Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.” I have spent many moments over this past year grieving the loss of my mother, but just this past Palm Sunday, as I entered the aisle for communion, I felt a deep sense of peace for the first time since losing her.

I realized then that the greatest gift she ever gave me was the gift of faith. A faith that never stopped asking, expecting to receive the full joy of the Lord. A faith witnessed by the many children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren who carry her legacy forward.

Prayer

Rev. Herbert Yost, C.S.C.

In your gentleness, O Lord Jesus, you never give us more than we can bear. You never ask us to do something without at the same time giving us the needed grace. We thank you for your presence in our life through the Spirit, and pray that we may be a blessing and a life-giver to all whom we meet this day. Amen.

Saint of the Day

St. Bernardine of Siena

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 Snite 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.