Daily Gospel Reflection
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November 7, 2020
Jesus said to his disciples:
“I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth,
so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
The person who is trustworthy in very small matters
is also trustworthy in great ones;
and the person who is dishonest in very small matters
is also dishonest in great ones.
If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth,
who will trust you with true wealth?
If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another,
who will give you what is yours?
No servant can serve two masters.
He will either hate one and love the other,
or be devoted to one and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and mammon.”
The Pharisees, who loved money,
heard all these things and sneered at him.
And he said to them,
“You justify yourselves in the sight of others,
but God knows your hearts;
for what is of human esteem is an abomination in the sight of God.”
Sometimes the greatest struggles in parenting are the times we have to be consistent about the small things. My three-year-old seems to have completely forgotten the manners he was once so good at using. My six-year-old is going through a serious phase of being a sore loser. Today’s gospel reminds me that emphasizing the importance of little things like these can serve as the foundation of our character.
When the three-year-old yells out “MILK!” my husband and I roll our eyes at each other. We know it would be easier to just get the kid some milk instead of insisting on good manners and reviewing, yet again, how to ask for things properly. And when the six-year-old reacts poorly to losing a board game or tries to explain away a loss in a backyard sport, we know it would be easier to tell ourselves, “she will grow out of it.” We are certainly not always perfect as parents, but we have agreed to invest our energy in guiding our children during these moments. We hope that these consistent, loving corrections will help them to become people of integrity and good character.
“The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones.” There are so many things in our lives that seem like “small matters,” but the way that we handle them can define who we are. For me, parenting is one of my greatest responsibilities but it is made up of an endless series of these “small matters.” It shows me how being true to my faith in the little things can ultimately define who I am as a person of faith overall.
Prayer
Giver of our daily bread, remind us of the many small gifts you give us each day. Help us recognize your constant and sustaining help supporting us today. Be with us as we receive our daily bread. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Willibrord evangelized the Netherlands, and people in that region still honor the saint today with a unique “dancing saints” procession.
He was born in 658 and educated in a monastery led by St. Wilfrid. At the age of 20, he went to Ireland to study and live in a monastery there. After 12 years, he had a desire to preach the faith in northern Germany, but was denied because it was a dangerous region, and other monks had tried and failed.
Willibrord traveled to Rome, where he flung himself at the feet of the pope, asking for permission to preach the Gospel to pagan nations. The pope gave him authority to do so, and gave him a number of relics with which he could consecrate altars in churches he built.
He preached in parts of what is now the Netherlands before being ordained a bishop in 695. As he aged, he only seemed to gain zeal and energy for the spread of the Gospel. With help from patrons, he established a monastery in Echternach, Luxembourg, which became the center of learning and culture.
A town surrounds the abbey in Echternach today. Each Tuesday after Pentecost, the people of the town gather for a festival known as the Dancing Saints. Its origins are obscure, but it has been celebrated since the 1500s. The people of the town process with a dancing step to music, moving through the town, over a bridge, to the tomb of Willibrord. The ceremony ends with a benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. Video of the people of Echternach processing to St. Willibrord’s tomb can be seen here.
In one of his journeys, Willibrord landed upon an island that was revered as a holy place by the Danes. The people there refused to kill anything on the island for food—either animals or plants—and only drew water from a spring in complete silence. Willibrord set out to demonstrate this reverence as foolishness and killed several animals and ate them with his companions. He then baptized three people in the spring, loudly pronouncing the words to the rite.
In other places, he confronted paganism, overthrowing idols and boldly proclaiming the truth of Jesus Christ. For a time, he was joined by St. Boniface.
Willibrord was known as cheerful and wise, and he nourished all of his evangelical activity with a healthy prayer life of meditation and reading. From time to time, he would return to the monastery he founded at Echternach for retreat and prayer. He died there on this date in 739 at the age of 81, and is buried in the abbey church, which is a place of pilgrimage. His relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica. Willibrord is patron of those who suffer from seizures.
St. Willibrord, you evangelized the Netherlands and are honored in the festival of the Dancing Saints—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Willibrord is used with permission from Catholic Online. Last accessed October 10, 2024.