Daily Gospel Reflection
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May 8, 2020
Jesus said to his disciples, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.
“Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.”
Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
I am about a month away from finishing my first year of teaching high school science. There was a particular day this school year that I will never forget, in which a student from my most challenging class pulled the lever of the safety shower that is in every science lab, which is meant to be used in the case of an emergency. Unsurprisingly, it released a large volume of water, as it is intended only for emergency situations. No one’s safety was at risk, and this student just did it to make his friends laugh. While I was cleaning up the mess that resulted with tear-filled eyes, it made me wonder, “Did I make the wrong decision by choosing to teach? Did I discern wrongly?”
I feel so empathetic toward Thomas when he says, “Lord, we do not know where you are going.” I felt that almost every day teaching as I tried to imagine how instances like this were somehow a part of God’s plan. Even now, as I navigate remote learning during the COVID-19 crisis, that question is still prevalent.
The “way” doesn’t promise us there will be no suffering or hardship. Just because something is difficult does not necessarily mean it’s the wrong thing to be doing. I don’t always know where Jesus is in a particular situation, but Jesus is fully there, experiencing the pain alongside us, and knows the outcome. Jesus knows what to do when kids pull a safety shower, knows what to do in a pandemic, and knows the way to the Father. Jesus is waiting for us in the heavenly kingdom, in our prepared place, and is with us here today as we clean up the messes that cause us to question God’s plan.
Prayer
No one knows the troubles we suffer, dear Lord, and sometimes our lives are hard to bear. Help us to trust in your consoling words, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” You know the depth of all people’s suffering and still you offered yourself on the cross to save us from ourselves, our pride, our self-centeredness. May the Spirit who raised you from the dead raise us up to serve others in their needs today. Alleluia!
Saint of the Day
Peter of Tarantaise lived his vocation as a monk to the fullest.
He was born in 1102 near Vienne and joined a Cistercian monastery at the age of 20. He lived with such modesty, charity, and humility that people were moved and changed when they spent time with him. He was such a great witness of the religious life that many others followed him and joined the abbey as well. In fact, his whole family followed him and joined communities of their own—his mother, father, and siblings!
He was appointed as leader of a new monastery that was established at a crossroads in the desert mountains, and the community became known as a resting place for travelers. Peter began a hospice there for sick and poor travelers.
Soon, against his will, he was elected Archbishop of Tarentaise. He wanted to remain with the community, living a life of prayer and service, but had to be compelled to take on this leadership role. He obeyed, and found his new diocese to be in a terrible state—the clergy there were known for corruption and immorality. In a short time, Peter reformed the diocese—he established a strict rule for clergy, elevated good priests to pastoral roles, established new foundations to care for the sick and the poor, and constantly visited the people he served.
Miracles were attributed to him during this time—healings, and the multiplication of food during a famine. He became widely known as a wonder-worker, which increased his longing for the solitude he found in his life as a monk. After 13 years as archbishop, he one day suddenly vanished without a trace.
He was discovered one year later in a remote Cistercian abbey in Switzerland, where he had joined the community under an assumed name as a lay brother. He was ordered to return, and was warmly greeted when he got back to Tarentaise. He redoubled his efforts at leading the diocese, and took even greater care of the poor—twice he endangered his own life by giving away his own cloak in severe weather.
Religious and state authorities turned to Peter, a man of great peace, in moments of conflict so that he could effect reconciliation with his words and presence. He preached outspokenly and fearlessly in disputes over the papacy and between the kings of France and England, and his words were backed by miracles of healings. He died during one of his journeys for such a cause.
St. Peter of Tarentaise, you tried to run away from your duties as a bishop, but became known as a man of great peace—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Peter of Tarentaise is used with permission from Catholic Online. Last accessed March 6, 2025.