Daily Gospel Reflection
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May 22, 2022
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words;
yet the word you hear is not mine
but that of the Father who sent me.
“I have told you this while I am with you.
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send in my name,
will teach you everything
and remind you of all that I told you.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give it to you.
Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.
You heard me tell you,
‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’
If you loved me,
you would rejoice that I am going to the Father;
for the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you this before it happens,
so that when it happens you may believe.”
Spiritual consolation—feeling comforted by God—is not an everyday emotion. If we are honest, it is not even a most-days thing. Such feelings are neither controllable nor constant, even for some of the greatest saints.
This means that most of the time, we stay in a state of spiritual dryness, where consolations are either weak or barely discernible. We know by faith that Jesus and the Father “make their dwelling” with us at various moments, like receiving the Eucharist or sitting in Adoration. And we know by faith that “the Advocate, the Holy Spirit,” is present in our lives. But it is quite another thing to concretely feel God’s presence.
So what do we do? What do we do when the joy of the five-minute Easter Alleluia fades into the background of our busy minds? What do we do when our feelings aren’t there and we cannot come up with the words to pray? What do we do when we feel abandoned or alone?
Christ answers by word and example. When he says, “the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me,” he shows us his obedience to the Father who sent him into the world. As St. Paul says, Christ, “though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself… and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross” (Phil 2:6-8).
Christ prepares his apostles for feeling his absence, saying, “Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.” When the temptation to fear or despair threatens to overwhelm us, we can ask God for the graces of patience, trust, and hope—because Christ himself has promised, “I will come back to you.”
Prayer
Dear Jesus, you promise to be with us through the presence of your Spirit, our Advocate. Bless us with your presence and the gift of your guidance. May our efforts bring you glory. Amen!
Saint of the Day
Nearly every stage of her life was marked by suffering and loss, but Rita never lost her faith and trust in God. Because of this faithfulness, she is the patron saint of desperate causes.
Rita was born to aged parents in 1381 in Italy. She was a pious child, and wanted to devote herself to a religious life, but her parents arranged a marriage for her. She obeyed, but suffered greatly because her husband was abusive.
She bore twins, and the two boys also suffered under her husband until he was killed by a different family in an honor killing. After her two sons died of illness, Rita applied to enter a convent.
Because some of the sisters in the convent were related to the family that killed her husband, she was denied entry. She persisted in asking to join the community, however, and eventually was accepted.
As a religious, she gave all of her energies to devotional practices and prayer. From her childhood, Rita was devoted to the passion and suffering of Jesus. She received a special form of the stigmata when a wound opened on her forehead similar to what would have resulted from the crown of thorns Jesus wore. The wound caused her to be secluded, and she suffered from it for 15 years until her death. The last four years of her life were marked by illness and she died on this date in 1457.
In modern times, her body was discovered to have remained incorrupt, and some of her relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica. Her bust, pictured here, stands in the offices of Campus Ministry for the University.
St. Rita, you who are patron saint of the impossible and the advocate of desperate cases—pray for us!