Daily Gospel Reflection
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October 10, 2020
While Jesus was speaking, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!”
But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!”
As a child, I remember giving my dad the Pop-Up Book of Boats one Christmas. Very cute, in a father-and-son sort of way, and something he held onto for quite some time – but plainly a poor choice of presents. Indeed, the only thing that made it a good present was just how adorably bad a present it actually was.
A less adorable example is the guy who catcalls a woman he thinks is good-looking. “It was a compliment!” he argues.
She – and I – and, I believe, Christ—would disagree.
When the woman in the Gospel interrupts Jesus to bestow blessings upon him, she likely believes he will appreciate it.
It’s a very Golden Rule moment (“Do unto others…”) and she’s probably a bit taken aback by Jesus’ response which feels, frankly, rather terse – feels like a comic shutting down a heckler in the crowd. I can almost hear the woman shouting back, “It was a compliment!”
But the caveat of that Rule “…as you would have them do unto you,” is where the danger lies. It can often promote a self-indulgent pride: a certainty that our way is the best way for everyone, without the empathy of thoughtful consideration.
Jesus challenges this complacency in today’s encounter. The verbs in Christ’s response are specifically to listen and to act, and not to speak. How much harder – and more generous – would it be if we were to do unto others as Others would have us do unto them?
We must break bread with the tax collector, whatever his politics. We must stand between the adulteress and the mob, whatever her sins.
Words are not enough. We must honor the humanity of the Other – with empathy and with action – regardless of how different their life is from our own.
Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, you chose to be born among us, and you became like us in every way but sin. As a merciful and faithful high priest, you make atonement for our sins. Help us to hear your word every day, and in listening to you, may we come to the knowledge of what is good and true. Stir your spirit within us to practice what we discern from your word. We ask this in your name. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Daniel Comboni was one of the Church’s great missionaries—he engaged all of Europe in the evangelization of the African continent.
He was born in the Lombardy region of Italy in 1831 to parents who farmed on land owned by a wealthy owner. His seven siblings all died young—six in their infancy—so his parents held him very closely. They were poor, but rich in faith and intimacy.
Daniel was sent away to a Catholic boarding school in Verona, where a vocation to the priesthood was awakened in him. During his studies, he became fascinated with the people of central Africa as they were described by visiting missionaries. He was ordained in 1854, and three years later set out with five others to help spread the Gospel there.
It took five months for the team to reach Khartoum, capital of the Sudan. They immediately encountered many difficulties, including hard work in an uncomfortable climate, the dire poverty of the people, and sickness. The death of several of his fellow missionaries did not dampen his zeal. He wrote to his parents:
“We will have to labor hard, to sweat, to die. But the thought that one sweats and dies for love of Jesus Christ and the salvation of the most abandoned souls in the world is far too sweet for us to desist from this great enterprise.”
He was forced to return to Italy to develop a new strategy for his missionary work. While he was praying at the tomb of St. Peter, he received an inspiration for a new plan—to “save Africa through Africa.” His idea was to empower the local Church in Africa so that it could regenerate and sustain itself, rather than approaching central Africans as helpless.
From that point, he began begging tirelessly throughout Europe for support and awareness of the emerging Christians of central Africa. Kings and queens, bishops and nobles responded. He could speak six different European languages in addition to Arabic and several indigenous African dialects. He founded Italy’s first missionary magazine and began gathering men and women in a religious order to sustain the work.
In 1877, he was ordained a bishop and given responsibility for the Church in central Africa. Soon after, a terrible drought and famine hit the area, which crippled the missionary efforts once again. Daniel and his missionaries endured, however, and tok steps to suppress the slave trade.
In 1881, Daniel fell sick and died. He was only 50 years old. Comboni priests, brothers, and sisters continue his work today in 41 countries. He was beatified in 1996 after an Afro-Brazilian girl was healed through his intercession. He was canonized in 2003 after his intercession was credited with the healing of a Muslim mother from Sudan.
St. Daniel Comboni, you built the Church in central Africa—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Daniel Comboni is in the public domain. Last accessed November 15, 2024 on Wikimedia Commons.
