Daily Gospel Reflection
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October 13, 2024
As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up,
knelt down before him, and asked him,
“Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good?
No one is good but God alone.
You know the commandments: You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness;
you shall not defraud;
honor your father and your mother.”
He replied and said to him,
“Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth.”
Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him,
“You are lacking in one thing.
Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor
and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”
At that statement his face fell,
and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
Jesus looked around and said to his disciples,
“How hard it is for those who have wealth
to enter the kingdom of God!”
The disciples were amazed at his words.
So Jesus again said to them in reply,
“Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle
than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves,
“Then who can be saved?”
Jesus looked at them and said,
“For human beings it is impossible, but not for God.
All things are possible for God.”
Peter began to say to him,
“We have given up everything and followed you.”
Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you,
there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters
or mother or father or children or lands
for my sake and for the sake of the gospel
who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age:
houses and brothers and sisters
and mothers and children and lands,
with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.”
Today, Mark’s Gospel tells us of the rich man who recognizes Jesus for who he is. He excitedly runs up and kneels before Jesus in right worship, asking the ultimate question: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Upon hearing Christ’s review of the commandments, the man is excited to report that he has kept all these indispensable tenets of the Jewish faith from his youth. And then Jesus delivers the clincher: “Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in Heaven; then come, follow me.”
Our wealthy friend is devastated.
Just when he thinks he is on the doorstep of consummate affirmation, he hears a demand that takes his breath away. What is the one command that keeps us away from the radical discipleship to which Jesus calls us? It turns out that he doesn’t just want some of the components of our lives. He wants it all.
If Jesus is who he says he is, then we need to order our whole beings toward him. The glory of God is humanity fully alive! That happens only when we submit our whole being to him: our personal life, our sexual life, our career life, our family life, our social life — everything.
Here’s how the Redeemer sums it up: “…There is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake…who will not receive a hundred times more now in this life…with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.” Is Jesus worth it all, including the promised persecutions? We need to decide. Maybe Joshua 24:15 can nudge us in the right direction: “But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
Prayer
Lord, like your first disciples, we wish to abandon all to follow you. Yet we have learned that we still have it within ourselves to hold back. We wish to be whole-hearted, yet we are hesitant. May the promise of your love and friendship continue to draw us along the paths of discipleship in this world to our eternal home in the world to come. Amen.
Saint of the Day

St. Edward the Confessor was one of the great kings of England. Because he is the patron saint of University founder Father Edward Sorin, C.S.C., his feast day has traditionally been a day of celebration for Notre Dame.
Edward the Confessor’s name reflects less his own piety or status as a sacramental minister than the fact that he is a saint who did not suffer martyrdom. In ancient Christian tradition, saints were those who had been martyred for Christ. As Christianity grew, and local persecutions did not define sainthood as much, different titles were given to saints to designate their particular path to holiness. Confessors were those whose lives confessed the creed in a nonviolent manner.
Edward is a particularly prominent saint, as he was the last Anglo-Saxon king before the Norman conquest of England, which happened during the reign of his successor.
Edward was the seventh son of King Æthelred the Unready, and the first son of Æthelred’s second wife, Emma of Normandy. Edward was born between 1003 and 1005 in Oxfordshire, England.
When Edward was a child, England was plagued by Viking raids. A Viking chieftain, Sweyn, seized the English throne in 1013, causing several decades of turmoil and fighting. Sweyn’s son took over the throne and married Edward’s mother Emma, subsequently banishing Edward and his brothers. Edward was exiled most likely to Normandy but finally returned to England in 1042, invited back to take up the English throne. He was crowned king of England in 1043 in Winchester Cathedral. Winchester was the seat of the Saxon kings before Westminster Abbey, which, incidentally, Edward began the construction of. Westminster Abbey is a beautiful example of Norman Romanesque architecture, and it exhibits the Norman sensibilities of Edward, who spent large amounts of time in exile in Normandy.

Edward the Confessor was the first Anglo-Saxon and the only English king to be canonized by the Roman Catholic Church. There is considerable dispute over whether his canonization was politically motivated, or whether his cult grew from devoted Englishmen and women who truly loved King Edward. Edward has long been a patron saint of England, before finally being replaced by Saint George.
Edward died of an illness in 1066, and his relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica. St. Edward’s Hall, a men’s residence hall on campus, is named after this English king because he was the patron saint of Father Edward Sorin, C.S.C., founder of the University. The stained glass window above comes from the chapel in St. Edward's hall, and this statue of St. Edward stands in the courtyard in front; he holds a model of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in his hand.

Today marks Founder’s Day for the University of Notre Dame, as it is the celebration of Edward Sorin's "name day," i.e., the feast of the saint after whom he is named. In Notre Dame's earlier years, classes were canceled and the day was marked by games, performances, and a large feast. Today the University commemorates Founder’s Day with a special Mass in the Basilica, celebrated by the university president.
Whether or not King Edward was “saintly,” as popular imagination defines it, does not diminish his extraordinary legacy in the building of Westminster Abbey. Westminster has been a home for countless English Catholics and Christians for nearly a millennium. It has been a home for pilgrims seeking a space to pray, beautiful liturgy, and heavenly music.
Much like his namesake Edward, Fr. Edward Sorin was also known for a rather prickly temperament—not a particularly “saintly” disposition. Fr. Edward Sorin, like Edward the Confessor, founded a place that became much larger than the cult of his own personality, which became a place for prayer, learning, and growth, that has been a source of grace for countless visitors and students for almost two hundred years.
St. Edward the Confessor, patron saint of Father Edward Sorin—pray for us!