Daily Gospel Reflection
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May 6, 2020
Jesus cried aloud: “Whoever believes in me believes not in me but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me sees him who sent me.
“I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness. I do not judge anyone who hears my words and does not keep them, for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.
“The one who rejects me and does not receive my word has a judge; on the last day the word that I have spoken will serve as judge, for I have not spoken on my own, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment about what to say and what to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I speak, therefore, I speak just as the Father has told me.”
During the 1918 influenza pandemic, my grandmother was 23 years old and a recent nursing school graduate when she volunteered for the Detroit Public Health Service. Fearlessly independent all 90 years of her life, Grandma B. was woefully unprepared when she made the bold decision to take this dangerous job. My grandfather had been recently drafted and was serving in France in the First World War, so Grandma thought it her civic duty to serve too. Grandma’s strict Scotch Presbyterian family offered her no support as most were still furious that she married a Catholic.
Grandma worked long days caring for immigrants in the tenements near the Detroit River. The
work was more difficult than expected and she was troubled by fear daily. Her darkness quickly
lifted when Grandma discovered she was pregnant with the first of her nine children. This
unexpected blessing forced my grandmother back to her parent’s home where they reconciled
and she remained until my grandfather returned from the war.
My grandmother and all other professionals serving on the front lines during this pandemic
exemplify John’s Gospel message of, “I have come as light into the world”. Their undaunted
courage to serve others during our dark times embodies what author Brian Doyle N.D. ‘78 said
about faith, “Be the word. Bring love like a bright light against the dark”.
Their daily sacrifices serve as a witness of living faith when are struggling on this difficult journey.
Prayer
O God, strengthen our faith in your presence to us, especially through the Word of Scripture and the sacraments of your Church. May our belief in you reveal itself in our goodness to others, especially in ways of sacrifice and service. We ask all this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen!
Saint of the Day
Rose Maria Benedetta experienced all the sorrow life could bring a wife and mother, and she responded by growing in compassion for others who were suffering.
She was born in 1831 in Genoa, Italy, one of six children in a well-to-do family. She married in 1852 and the couple had three children. The family moved to Marseilles, France, but had to return to Genoa because of financial trouble. During this time, their oldest child got sick and was left mute and deaf. Then, Rose's husband died in 1858, and a few months later, her youngest child died of an illness.
It seems that her suffering led her to greater compassion for those who also suffer. She continued to care for her two remaining children, but she began to develop a fervent spiritual life, and actively reached out to others who were poor or experiencing pain in some way.
She preferred to remain private with her devotion, but she became known for her insight and holiness, and people started to seek her out. She discerned a call to form her own religious community. Even though everyone around her encouraged her to follow this call, she was afraid that her children would not receive enough attention from her. She spoke to the pope about it in 1866, with the hope that he would affirm her fears, but he told her to begin working on the new community right away. She was allowed to continue raising and caring for her children as she began this important work.
Later that year, she founded an order of sisters under the name of St. Anne, the mother of Mary. Its mission was to care for the poor and sick. She and 12 other sisters professed their vows and she took the name Anna Rosa. By the time she died in 1900, 3,500 sisters had joined the order, living in 368 community houses around the world. They built hostels and schools, and took on a special ministry to the deaf and mute. Today, the order is associated with the Movement of Hope, the Contemplative Order of the Daughters of St. Anne, and the Sons of St. Anne.
Blessed Anna Rosa Gattorno, you transformed your sorrow into hope for the poor and sick—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of Bl. Anna Rosa Gattorno is used with permission from Catholic Online.