Daily Gospel Reflection
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May 4, 2023
When Jesus had washed the disciples’ feet, he said to them:
“Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master
nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him.
If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it.
I am not speaking of all of you.
I know those whom I have chosen.
But so that the Scripture might be fulfilled,
The one who ate my food has raised his heel against me.
From now on I am telling you before it happens,
so that when it happens you may believe that I AM.
Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send
receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.”
Reflection
Today’s gospel calls to mind a famous statue called Homeless Jesus by Timothy Schmalz. Originally installed at the University of Toronto, I encountered one cast of this sculpture in an area of Detroit frequented by homeless persons.
The statue appears to be a person sleeping on a bench, covered in a tattered blanket, with only a pair of bare feet protruding from the rags. Closer inspection of the feet reveals nail marks through them, clearly meant to portray Jesus’ feet.
The statue stings my conscience. How often have I quickly judged a person for sleeping on a bench? How many times have I walked by without a second thought in the other direction? Jesus said, “Whatsoever you do to the least of my people, you do unto me.” This is a difficult charge, and the Homeless Jesus statue makes it all the more real. It challenges me to slow down, offer a kind word, and perhaps a meal or a few dollars to a Jesus in disguise.
Interactions with disadvantaged strangers aren’t the only ones that could benefit from this perspective. With two demanding toddlers and a newborn arriving soon, I desperately need to cultivate a servant’s heart.
In this phase of life, it can be challenging to joyfully prepare endless meals and snacks, wash laundry stained by those meals, and patiently teach basic hygiene and etiquette. What must I do to receive the little ones Jesus has sent me? Realizing that receiving these little souls means receiving the one who sent them to me will certainly help.
Jesus knelt and washed his disciples’ feet to teach them humility and love. May we each remember that in receiving and accompanying the powerless and the needy, we are receiving and accompanying Christ.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, if our Baptism as Christians has incorporated us fully into your life, then we have a responsibility to act and speak as our Father does. You told us throughout the Easter season about your priorities. All too often, they are not ours, and for this we ask forgiveness and assistance. We can’t become more fully like you all on our own. Please help us. 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!