Daily Gospel Reflection
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November 20, 2025
As Jesus drew near Jerusalem,
he saw the city and wept over it, saying,
“If this day you only knew what makes for peace–
but now it is hidden from your eyes.
For the days are coming upon you
when your enemies will raise a palisade against you;
they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides.
They will smash you to the ground and your children within you,
and they will not leave one stone upon another within you
because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”
It is critical to comprehend the personhood of Jesus in order to understand how incredibly beautiful and heartbreaking today’s gospel truly is. Fully divine, yet fully human, Christ sees both physically and spiritually how sin destroys our lives. He sees it in our actions, and he sees it in our souls. As Christ was fully able to embrace the fullness of what it means to love on earth, his heart breaks when he sees us unable or unwilling to replicate his example.
At that moment in time, our Lord wept for our intentional ignorance. He wept for our addiction to sin. He wept for the failures amidst our efforts to love him. He wept for our self-inflicted suffering. This is an omnipotent God, descended from the Father, graced with immortality and unbridled power, and here he is crying—crying for you and for me.
The self-inflicted wounds we imprint on our souls are the result of sin and separation from Christ. It is Christ who wants to love us, and it is we who withdraw. Imagine if you were a father or a mother, desperately trying to love your child with the entirety of your heart, but he kept pulling away. That pain of witnessing ignorant separation is what our Lord feels when we look for peace in places other than with him.
This is Christ’s warning: We cannot find peace by means separate from God. If we try, we shall come to be enslaved by our passions, self-absorbed, unsatiated, exhausted, and separated from the one who loves us most.
Our sin creates what St. Augustine called the “City of Man,” a city based on love of self to the extinction of God. Christ invites us to join the “City of God,” a city rooted in love of God to the extinction of self. Our sin enslaves. Our Lord liberates. To find true peace, we must build the City of God.
Prayer
Dear Lord, as it was in Jerusalem of your time, so it is with us today: your Word of peace, unity, and reconciliation goes unheard and unheeded. The walls of hostility and division are strong, and we know they exist in our own hearts and minds also. We pray not only for our own conversion to your ways, but also for the conversion of our nation and our Church.
Saint of the Day
St. Edmund Rich had a personal sanctity that faithfully guided his dealings with the most powerful people on earth. He was unafraid to speak the truth, whether to the king of England or the pope, and he was often at odds with both.
St. Edmund was born in 1180 and studied at Oxford and in Paris; he was the first Master of Arts at Oxford. He was known for a faithfulness that matched his diligent study. He taught art and mathematics until he received a vision from his deceased mother, who encouraged him to study theology.
After receiving his doctorate in theology, he was ordained a priest and went on to teach theology and hold significant posts in the university’s administration. He was the first to teach Aristotle at Oxford, and took great interest in his students, especially if they were poor or sick. Today's featured image shows a bronze statue of St. Edmund that stands at Oxford.
Edmund dedicated almost all of his income to the poor or to the Church—he often fell into need himself because of his generosity, and his superiors scolded him for not saving more for his own support.
He was known as an eloquent speaker and effective preacher–miracles and conversions accompanied his speaking. He was also an expert in spirituality and constantly encouraged the faithful to pray. Speaking on how we ought to pray, he said:
“A hundred thousand people are deceived by multiplying prayers. I would rather say five words devoutly with my heart, than 5,000 which my soul does not relish with affection and intelligence.”
He was known for his great self-discipline: under his clothes, he wore a sackcloth pressed close to his skin by metal plates, and he slept only a few hours at night in order to spend time in prayer and meditation. On one occasion, he was observed levitating, rapt in prayer.
In 1233 he was named Archbishop of Canterbury against his wishes. He advised King Henry III and presided at the king’s confirmation of the Magna Carta in 1237. Edmund was at the center of relations between Rome and England, and spoke truth to power on both sides. He admonished the king for having favorites in his court, and traveled to Rome to urge reforms in the Church.
Because he was so truthful and did not vary from what he saw as just and right, many people found him inconvenient. Political movements forced Edmund’s resignation in 1240, and he moved to France and became a monk. He died later that year, and miracles at his grave were reported soon after his burial. His relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.
St. Edmund Rich, you spoke truth to both the king and the pope—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Edmund Rich is in the public domain. Last accessed October 18, 2024 on Wikimedia Commons.
