Daily Gospel Reflection
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November 28, 2020
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy
from carousing and drunkenness
and the anxieties of daily life,
and that day catch you by surprise like a trap.
For that day will assault everyone
who lives on the face of the earth.
Be vigilant at all times
and pray that you have the strength
to escape the tribulations that are imminent
and to stand before the Son of Man.”
Today’s gospel strikes a chord with me because I feel that there have been times when my heart has been “drowsy” and certain things in life have caught me “like a trap.” In an economic downturn some years ago, I was unexpectedly laid off from my job and I had to consider whether I was really doing work that was meaningful and fulfilling to me. I never would have considered leaving my job, but this turn of events woke me up from my routine. I ended up pursuing a different path and I’m very glad that I did. Another example is the time that I received a serious medical diagnosis, out of the blue. I was completely unprepared for this news and, in light of this new reality, I realized there were a lot of things in life that I had been taking for granted.
The normal patterns of our lives can cause us to lose sight of the big picture, such as our careers, our relationships, or our health. But, most significantly, routine daily life can make us “drowsy” to the immediacy and urgent significance of our faith. Jesus’ words today wake us up in our lives of faith. If Jesus came back to earth right now and found me going about my normal everyday life, what would he think? Would I be prepared to explain what I was doing, why I was doing it, and how I had decided to live my life the way that I do? This is essentially what this reading is asking us to consider.
Wake up calls are always hard. When we are drowsy, as this reading suggests, we would prefer to be left alone. But if there is one wake up call that we ought not to ignore, it is the one from Jesus who tells us to be “vigilant at all times.”
Prayer
O God, our life can be overwhelming at times. We are filled with anxiety, distracted by sin, and fall into complacency. Grant us the grace and strength to be faithful to you. Help us to remember the promise of your kingdom and the glory that awaits us. Keep us ever vigilant in the life that you call us to. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Catherine Laboure is famous for spreading devotion to Jesus and Mary—especially through their sacred hearts—by a medal that was revealed to her in a vision.
Zoe Laboure was born in 1806 to a farm family in Burgundy, France. She was ninth of eleven children and at the age of nine, her mother died and she and a younger sister were sent to live with an aunt. Later, when other siblings left the household (some for religious life) she was forced to return to care for the household.
She never learned to read or write, and later worked as a waitress in her uncle’s café in Paris. She visited a hospital run by the Sisters of Charity, and felt a tangible call to work with the sick. She eventually joined the order, taking the name Catherine.
When she was a novice in the community, Mary appeared to Catherine three times. In one of her visions, Mary showed Catherine a medal to be worn around the neck. The medal depicts Mary as the Immaculate Conception, and has become known as the “Miraculous Medal.” On one side is an image of Mary with the words, “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.” On the other side is a depiction of the sacred hearts of Jesus and Mary. She told Catherine to have medals made as a source of prayer and grace. Devotion to the Miraculous Medal has since spread worldwide.
Catherine died after many long years as a nun, working in kitchens and gardens and taking care of elderly people in a nursing home. Her relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.
St. Catherine Laboure, faithful visionary who passed on to us the image of the Miraculous Medal—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Catherine Laboure is in the public domain. Last accessed November 15, 2024 on Wikimedia Commons.
