Daily Gospel Reflection
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May 27, 2020
Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed, saying: “Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled.
“But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may share my joy completely. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.
“I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.”
“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.”
This message comes to us at an appropriate moment between our celebration of the Ascension of Our Lord and Pentecost. We celebrate these dramatic moments in salvation history as we conclude the Easter season so as to remember that, even as Christ takes leave of us on earth in the Ascension, he is even more present to us after than before; indeed, he sends forth His Spirit to sanctify us in truth. Thus sanctified, we are enlivened to spread his good news. While reflecting on today’s gospel reading, I recalled the liturgy celebrating the Ascension in 2018, which took place during my Senior Week at Notre Dame. I remember Fr. Pat Reidy’s homily, which went something like this: “Jesus is right; he sends his apostles into the world, after sanctifying them in truth. He does the same for you. You didn’t come here to stay. You came here to go.”
Jesus’ first words to his apostles were, “Come,” and his final message was, “Go.” In a similar way, Notre Dame draws us together from different backgrounds in order to understand our relationship, identity, and mission in Christ before embarking on our own journey of public ministry. After my graduation from Notre Dame in 2018, I was sent to learn the work of teaching theology in a diocese through the Notre Dame Echo Program. Now that I am graduating from Echo, I am once again sent forth–along with the entire Class of 2020– from Our Lady’s university. We came here to be formed; we leave transformed, going out under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to carry out the call we have received.
What am I called to do with my life? How will I live in relationship with Jesus Christ and the people of the world? How will I be faithful witnesses to the love, hope, and joy of Jesus, inspired by the Holy Spirit? Notre Dame allows us to ask these questions and uncover these answers together; only then are we sent forth to love and serve the Lord by our lives.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, you prayed for the mercy shown by the Father, and promised to protect us so that we may be one as you and the Father are one. Look not at our faults and failures, and grant us your forgiveness and your mercy. Give us strength to call upon you, and may we all be one in faith, service, courage, and truth.
Saint of the Day
St. Augustine of Canterbury was a missionary who re-evangelized England in the late sixth century through his administrative skills and miracle-working faith.
When the Romans withdrew from England in 410, the English were left vulnerable to attacks from the Germanic Saxon tribes. The faith had come to England with the Romans, and it went underground when they left.
In 596, Pope St. Gregory the Great decided it was time to re-evangelize England, having received news that the Church would be welcomed among the kingdoms there. He sent 30 missionaries from the monastery to which he belonged, including the community leader, Augustine.
The group arrived in the north of France and was vehemently warned against crossing the channel to England because of the danger of the voyage and the savagery of the people there. Discouraged, Augustine and the group returned to Rome, but Pope Gregory sent them back.
They landed in Thanet and were received by the local king, who would be baptized and later crowned a Saint himself—St. Ethelbert. He was open to their mission, gave them the use of a local, unused church, and permitted them to teach the faith.
Their work helped the faith take root in the region, the king himself was baptized, and Augustine was raised to the position of archbishop. Ethelbert gave Augustine land in Canterbury for a church, where he built Christ Church and an abbey that now bears his name. The Church spread through England, and new dioceses were established in London and Rochester.
Augustine spent his last years consolidating the faithful communities that had been underground and administering the growing Church. Under Gregory’s guidance, he did not destroy pagan temples, but consecrated them for Christian use; and retained local customs and festivals, using them as occasions to celebrate the Christian faith instead.
His detailed correspondence with Pope Gregory described miracles worked through his intercession. Gregory warned Augustine of pride and told him to stay focused on the inward realities that the outward signs pointed to.
St. Augustine of Canterbury, you re-established the faith in England—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Augustine of Canterbury is available for use under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Last accessed March 11, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons. Modified from the original.
