Daily Gospel Reflection
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November 15, 2019
Jesus said to his disciples: “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so too it will be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking, and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed all of them.
“Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day that Lot left Sodom, it rained fire and sulfur from heaven and destroyed all of them—it will be like that on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.
“On that day, anyone on the housetop who has belongings in the house must not come down to take them away; and likewise anyone in the field must not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. Those who try to make their life secure will lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it.
“I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken and the other left.”
Then they asked him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”
Sometimes Christ adjusts our lens for us. He takes the binoculars that we’re examining our lives with and he changes up the focus, from human focus to divine, from our perspective to his. Long to-do lists, less-than-perfect grades, and fumbled interviews all blur away as Christ’s concerns come into sharp focus. In this passage Christ mentions the “day of the Son of Man” — judgment day — and he reminds us that this is the one and only judgment that matters.
The judgment he implies might seem random and even unfair through our human lens — two women doing the same thing but one woman is taken and the other left behind. Yet it highlights that God judges on a different scale than we do. What seems so important to us may not be so important to God. We’re free to stop worrying about human respect, judgments of our neighbors, and worldly standards of success because none of those things matter on the day of the Son of Man. Christ has different standards.
Christ tells us how to join the “woman who is taken” to eternal life in one paradoxical line — to preserve our lives we must lose them. Our lives are safer given away to others than kept meticulously under our own control. We are free to lose our lives in the service of others and let ourselves blur out of focus.
Thank you, Lord, for freeing us from the stress of success and the burden of appearances that the world presses upon us. We pray that you would continue to focus the lenses of our hearts and open us to love others.
Prayer
Gracious God, there has to be more to life than an unceasing round of eating, drinking, marrying, building, sowing, reaping, buying, and selling. All these things ultimately have their origin in you, so it stands to reason that we should be able to find your presence in those activities. Through Jesus and your Spirit, grant us the graces and the insights needed to see your presence in the here and now of everyday life so that we will not be fatally surprised when your day finally does come. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Albert the Great was one of the Church’s greatest scholars.
Albert was born into an upper-class German family in 1206 and, accordingly, received some of the best education in Europe. Albert spent most of his education at the University of Padua. Despite his family’s disapproval, he joined the Dominicans, and he furthered his education by studying theology in Bologna. He taught at universities in Regensburg, Cologne, and Freiburg. Finally, in 1245, Albert became a master of theology and shortly after began to teach theology at the University of Paris. It was during his tenure at the College of St. James at the University of Paris that Albert taught his most famous pupil—Thomas Aquinas.
Albert was largely responsible for bringing the writings of Aristotle back in to the academic conversation. Albert believed that Aristotle's approach to the natural sciences and philosophy was not in opposition to Christianity, but, in fact, could be a useful support to Christians seeking to understand God's work in the world. Albert wrote an encyclopedic commentary on philosopher Peter Lombard's Book of the Sentences. His pupil, Thomas, eventually wrote his own Summa Theologiae largely inspired by Albert's work. Albert was a true polymath and wrote extensively on natural science, logic, music, mathematics, astronomy, metaphysics, natural law, economics, and politics.
Albert introduced, or welcomed, the study of Greek and Arabic, and paved the way for a renewed interest in Aristotle’s works, which fueled Thomas Aquinas’ study of Aristotle.
Albert was a brilliant scientist and a prolific theologian. In a commentary on the Gospel of Luke, he wrote the following about the Eucharistic command to "Do this in remembrance of me":
"He could not have commanded anything more lovable, for this sacrament produces love and union. It is a characteristic of the greatest love to give itself as food. As if to say: 'I have loved them and they have loved me so much that I desire to be with them, and they wish to receive me so that they may become my members. There is no more intimate or more natural means for them to be united to me, and I to them.'"
Albert is known as the “light of Germany” and was given the title “great” because of the depth and breadth of his knowledge. He has been declared a doctor of the Church, a title given to thirty-seven saints who are known for elucidating the faith by their teaching or example.
Albert the Great is the patron saint of scientists, philosophers, and students—for this reason, his statue is featured on the facade of the Jordan Hall of Science. The chapel in Zahm Hall is named after Albert the Great, because he is the namesake of the brother of Father John Zahm, C.S.C. Albert Zahm. Albert Zahm studied at Notre Dame in the 1880s and was a pioneer in flight. Albert Zahm is buried in the Holy Cross Cemetery on campus. A statue of St. Albert the Great stands in the chapel in Zahm Hall.
Albert died in Cologne in 1280. Some of St. Albert's relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.
Albert the Great, whose faith sought understanding of all things and who used reason to seek a deeper knowledge of God—pray for us!