Daily Gospel Reflection
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May 4, 2022
Jesus said to the crowds,
“I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst.
But I told you that although you have seen me,
you do not believe.
Everything that the Father gives me will come to me,
and I will not reject anyone who comes to me,
because I came down from heaven not to do my own will
but the will of the one who sent me.
And this is the will of the one who sent me,
that I should not lose anything of what he gave me,
but that I should raise it on the last day.
For this is the will of my Father,
that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him
may have eternal life,
and I shall raise him on the last day.”
Before our gospel passage for today, the crowd asks Jesus for a sign. They thought if they could just see something extraordinary, they would believe. But troublingly, Jesus puts his finger on the heart of the matter: “I told you that although you have seen me, you do not believe.”
We all like to think that if God showed up in our midst, we would notice, and our faith would grow. But would we? Would we recognize the transcendent if it looked a little too much like the ordinary or a little different from what we expect? Would we be like those in the crowd who saw extraordinary things but missed what God was doing among them?
A famous social experiment happened in 2007 near an entrance to the L’Enfant Plaza Metro Station in Washington D.C. Joshua Bell, one of the most celebrated violinists of his generation, showed up unannounced during morning rush hour in ordinary clothes like a street musician and played six classical pieces of exceptional beauty.
Over a thousand people passed by during his performance; fewer than ten stopped to listen for more than a moment. Only one recognized him. Most hardly noticed he was even there.
When God is at work around us, when Christ’s presence is in front of us, do we stop to notice? Are we open to the supernatural life offered to us in the midst of the ordinary?
Jesus assures us that this is the Father’s will. He desires that when we see, we would also believe, and in believing, we would receive the resurrection life of Christ. Not only on the last day but already in our ordinary lives here and now.
Prayer
Dear Lord, how blessed are we to know that with you we have life eternal. There is no end with you. Even when we are faced with seemingly dark days, there is no need for panic or despair for nothing that happens today, or any day, can overcome us. Even death itself is not an end, for with you there is always a new beginning, a new life. We are comforted by your promise. Blessed are you our God! Amen.
Saint of the Day
For 150 years during the 16th and 17th centuries, England was at war with Catholicism and the pope. Hundreds of men and women, Catholic and Protestant, were killed during this dispute. Today, the Catholic Church remembers about 300 martyrs who were killed for their faith in England and Wales between 1534 and 1681.
A brief history: Mary I, queen of England and Ireland from 1553-1558, restored Catholicism and papal authority to England. She was known as “Bloody Mary” for having some 300 Protestants burned at the stake for heresy against the Catholic faith.
Mary’s sister and successor, Elizabeth I, reversed this Catholic restoration and denied papal authority in England. In 1570, the pope excommunicated Elizabeth and called Catholics in England to rebel. Fearing invasion by a Catholic nation assisted by English Catholics, Elizabeth repressed Catholicism harshly. To be Catholic was to be a traitor, and it was forbidden by law to attend Catholic Mass.
Catholics in England and Wales were arrested and imprisoned, and many were executed by being hanged, drawn, and quartered. Some 300 Catholic men and women are honored today in separate lists for having died for their faith. They include bishops, priests, religious, and lay men and women.
A list of the Protestant martyrs who were killed during the reinstatement of Catholicism can be found here. Some relics from Catholic martyrs of the English Reformation rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica, and a complete list of their names can be found here.
Martyrs of the English Reformation, you faced persecution and were killed for your faith—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of The Martyrdom of the Priors of the English Charterhouse of London Nottingham and Axholme is in the public domain. Last accessed March 6, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
