Daily Gospel Reflection
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November 23, 2022
Jesus said to the crowd:
“They will seize and persecute you,
they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons,
and they will have you led before kings and governors
because of my name.
It will lead to your giving testimony.
Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand,
for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking
that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.
You will even be handed over by parents,
brothers, relatives, and friends,
and they will put some of you to death.
You will be hated by all because of my name,
but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.
By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”
I recently attended a pandemic-delayed, 50-year reunion for my Catholic grade school. In sharing long-forgotten memories and stories of where our lives have taken us, I realized how incredibly blessed I was to attend Catholic schools and grow up in an area—and a family—that instilled a strong faith in me.
Throughout the years, I’ve never had to fear for my life for my religious beliefs. No one I know well has suffered real persecution or atrocities because of Jesus’ name. And there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t take time to be grateful for these things.
While I can’t relate to the fear of the people in the crowd Jesus spoke to 2,000 years ago or the religious persecution of many people throughout the world today, I can relate to ideas of endurance and perseverance in my own way.
I do a fair amount of distance bicycling in the mountains near my home. As the miles go on, I can get frustrated, tired, and convinced I can’t make it to the end. But during the toughest parts, I’ve learned to stop listening to the thoughts in my head that tell me I can’t do it and replace them with a rosary. Miraculously, I end up at the top—usually calmer than when I started.
Similarly, we face times in our spiritual lives where we can choose to endure or despair. The choice to despair may seem the most accessible road, but the will to endure opens us to receive what we need—God’s word.
Jesus never promised life would be easy. He promised to give us the words, love, and wisdom to be secure.
Prayer
O, Christ, our lives pattern your own. You were beaten and spat upon for loving a world unused to love. We, however, expect not to be hated by the world, but admired by it; not to be betrayed, but to succeed. Save us from the lie that your name, Jesus, will bring us only success, praise, and power. Give us the endurance to suffer because we have become such great lovers of the world that we bear you in our very bodies. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Clement I was the fourth pope to lead the Roman Church. Clement was a follower of St. Peter and potentially even St. Paul. Clement is famous for his letter to the Corinthians, the community which received two of Paul's most famous letters. Clement's letter is written in response to a schism in the community in Corinth but we know little else about this pope from historical records.
The legend of his martyrdom has been passed on throughout the centuries, however, chronicles an unusual path from papacy to execution. According to this ancient legend, the Roman populace rioted to have Christians expelled, and Clement, as the Bishop of Rome, was expelled to work in a marble quarry. There were many Christians who were forced to work there, and Clement encouraged and supported them.
The guards at the quarry noticed that he was converting many of his fellow workers to Christianity. Subsequently, Clement was ordered to be executed by drowning. An anchor was tied around his neck and Clement was thrown into the sea.
In the letter to the Corinthians, Clement writes:
"Beloved, how blessed and wonderful are God's gifts! There is life everlasting, joy in righteousness, truth in freedom, faith, confidence, and self-control in holiness. And these are the gifts that we can comprehend; what of all the others that are being prepared for those who look to him. Only the Creator, the Father of the ages, the all-holy, knows their grandeur and their loveliness."
Clement I is a patron saint of those who work on the water and of marble workers. Some of his relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on campus.
Pope St. Clement, pope and patron saint of those who work on the water—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of Pope St. Clement I is in the public domain. Last accessed October 18, 2024 on Wikimedia Commons.
