Daily Gospel Reflection
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May 26, 2026
Peter began to say to Jesus,
“We have given up everything and followed you.”
Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you,
there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters
or mother or father or children or lands
for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel
who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age:
houses and brothers and sisters
and mothers and children and lands,
with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.
But many that are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
Excerpts from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, second typical edition © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. Used with permission. All rights reserved. No portion of this text may be reproduced by any means without permission in writing from the copyright owner. The full readings of the day from the Lectionary are available here.
Here we go again. Another Tuesday morning commute. Because I live in the Great Lakes state of Michigan, “orange barrel season” (construction season) is already in full bore. With this construction, there are detours, lane closures, and very impatient drivers who can’t stomach the idea of being last.
I consider myself a patient follower of instructions like the followers Jesus is speaking to in today’s gospel message. As I have just passed my 70th birthday, I understand well delayed gratification. I believe if I trust the instructions, as in the passage, I will be rewarded. I don’t have to be in a rush to arrive at my destination, as I may and will arrive safely when I am supposed to get there. Similarly, what is our destination during our time on Earth? Are we to rush through our daily activities, or do we take the time to relish the value of others?
At our class of 1978 reunion Mass, Father Ed Shea offered four keys to happiness: be present today; don’t be in a hurry; don’t take yourself too seriously; be grateful. This is wise advice from my classmate. But, to be an adherent follower of Jesus today means to be patient to attain our ultimate reward—eternal life. We don’t have to always be first in line in traffic or first in the boarding line at the airport. We don’t always have to be first to get the job promotion or first to be sought out by others.
If we follow Jesus’ teachings, we will all get to our goal. We will all be first in God’s world. There are many ways to follow the teachings of Jesus in our daily existence. We often are reminded of the saying, “What would Jesus do?” It is just as important to act as the gospel disciples. Jesus is watching!
Prayer
Lord, like your first disciples, we wish to abandon all to follow you. Yet we have learned that we still have it within ourselves to hold back. We wish to be whole-hearted, yet we are hesitant. May the promise of your love and friendship continue to draw us along the paths of discipleship in this world to our eternal home in the world to come. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Philip Neri was extraordinarily touched by the divine presence, and radiated such joy that he was moved to share it with all he met. He became known as the “Apostle to Rome” because by the time he died, everyone in that city looked up to him as an example of great faithfulness.
He was born in 1515 in Florence and was described as a prayerful and sweet child; his nickname was Pippo buono—“good little Phil.” When he was 18, he went to live with a relative who had a thriving business, with the thought that he would inherit the work, but he had a kind of mystical experience that turned his attention from worldly affairs—he called it a conversion.
He soon struck out for Rome with no money or plans, and found a place to live in the attic of a government official. Philip tutored the family’s children in exchange for room and board, though he ate little more than bread and a few vegetables once a day. He spent the rest of his time in prayer, and over the course of two years his spiritual life strengthened and grew.
He came out of this extended retreat to enter the university, but after a few years of study he suddenly left that work, sold his books, and set out to engage people on the streets with the faith. Many Romans were not living faithfully at the time—the city was at a low point after a sacking in 1527—and abuses and corruption marked the Church. Philip set out to re-evangelize Rome.
He began by standing on the street and starting a dialogue with passers by. He had an easy disposition and a healthy sense of humor, and would often strike up conversations by saying, “Well, brothers, when shall we begin to do good?” In the evenings, he would spend his time in prayer.
On the eve of Pentecost in 1544, as he prayed in the catacombs, he had another mystical experience that permanently shaped his life and even his body. A ball of fire appeared to him and entered his mouth. It seemed to expand inside his body, and he was filled with ecstatic, euphoric feelings of divine love. “Enough, enough, Lord!” he exclaimed, rolling on the ground. “I can bear no more!”
When he placed his hand on his chest, he felt a swelling there the size of his fist, and it remained there for the rest of his life, but it did not hurt. From then on, whenever he felt a deep spiritual emotion, his body would shake and tremble. Sometimes, the lump seemed to burn, and he would strip his chest bare to relieve the heat. He feared he would die of God’s love. When he died, it was discovered that two of his ribs were broken and had formed a large cavity to expand the area where his heart beat.
In 1548, he began to gather a group of people together for prayer and service. The group cared for poor and suffering pilgrims—nearly 150,000 of them one year—and eventually took on more permanent responsibility for people who were chronically ill.
In 1551, Philip was ordained a priest, and his ministry in the confessional became very popular. He could read people’s hearts, and gathered people together for prayer and to encourage them with his preaching. An oratory room was built for this ministry, which continued to grow, and eventually Philip gathered some close followers and established a much larger oratory outside of Rome to serve the crowds.
Their work continues there today; the Oratorians take no formal vows, but promise to live in charity with one another. Some 500 priests serve more than 70 oratories around the world today. St. John Henry Newman and St. Francis de Sales were both members of this order.
Philip was always in touch with the supernatural—people said that they noticed his face radiating light, and he often fell into deep, ecstatic trances while celebrating Mass. In fact, his normal congregations got used to beginning Mass with him, then leaving after the “Lamb of God” to let him experience his rapture, and return two hours later to finish the liturgy and receive Communion.
Philip died of a massive heart attack on this date in 1595, which was the feast of Corpus Christi. His relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica, and the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art contains the sketch shown here, which depicts him conversing with someone on the streets in Rome.
St. Philip Neri, your body and soul were touched with divine love and you shared it with with others, pray for us!
To learn even more about St. Philip Neri, watch this video lecture from the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame.
Image Credit: (1) Our featured image of St. Philip Neri is in the public domain. Last accessed March 11, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons. Modified from the original. (2) Guido Reni (Italian, 1575 - 1642), A Scene from The Life of Saint Philip Neri, ca. 1609-1614, Pen and brown ink on paper. Raclin Murphy Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame. Gift of John D. Reilly, ND '63, '64, 2013.039.004.
