Daily Gospel Reflection
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October 19, 2023
The Lord said:
“Woe to you who build the memorials of the prophets
whom your fathers killed.
Consequently, you bear witness and give consent
to the deeds of your ancestors,
for they killed them and you do the building.
Therefore, the wisdom of God said,
‘I will send to them prophets and Apostles;
some of them they will kill and persecute
in order that this generation might be charged
with the blood of all the prophets
shed since the foundation of the world,
from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah
who died between the altar and the temple building.
Yes, I tell you, this generation will be charged with their blood!
Woe to you, scholars of the law!
You have taken away the key of knowledge.
You yourselves did not enter and you stopped those trying to enter.”
When Jesus left, the scribes and Pharisees
began to act with hostility toward him
and to interrogate him about many things,
for they were plotting to catch him at something he might say.
In today’s gospel, Jesus is angry! The Scribes and Pharisees are the religious leaders of the people. Unfortunately, they seem more interested in increasing their control over the people than leading them to the Father. Unmoderated anger can hurt when not directed well, but righteous anger can lead to change. That is Jesus’ focus—making hypocrisy and hard-heartedness so visible that it may lead to mercy and justice.
Does that mean we, too, must change? Yes.
A few years ago, I was an ND graduate and Navy veteran, starting an MBA program. Everything was moving along quite well, but I was disgruntled because my real focus had been on getting married. I felt like a miserable failure until a friend kindly told me, “Change your habit; you will change your attitude.” I prayed and asked the Holy Spirit for help. I slowly changed and became more relaxed and content with myself and the people around me.
Sometime later, walking down the hall in my Naval Reserve Center, a Navy Nurse passed by. We said, “Good morning.” My blink reaction at the moment was: “Wow, don’t ever get on the wrong side of that woman!” One year later, Gloria and I were married. (And by the way, my first impression was also correct.)
Forty-six years later, with three children and ten grandchildren—one of each called to heaven before birth—we have been more blessed than we could ever have hoped or imagined.
Today, I still require a change of focus and a change of heart. We all do. Only individually can we achieve that and make it right. Jesus lovingly calls all of us to look at those habits and attitudes and give him our hearts unreservedly. With his help, we can do that.
That is all he was asking of the Pharisees and Scribes—their hearts. May we be the image of Jesus in all we think, do, and say. May the Holy Spirit guide us throughout our days.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, you continually call us to love and conversion. In your challenge to the Pharisees, we hear you challenge us to grow in holiness. May we, in heeding your call, always seek to please you in the good we do, rather than pleasing ourselves. Grant us the trust to accept your call to growth, that we may come to know the fullness of life, which you promise to those who love you. We ask this in your most Holy Name. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Isaac Jogues is the first American saint—he was martyred with two other missionaries near the Mohawk river in New York state in 1646.
Isaac was born in 1607 in Orleans, France, to a middle-class family. He received a good education, and at the age of 17 entered the Jesuit community. As he continued his education in theology, he was influenced by superiors and teachers who had served as missionaries among the indigenous people of New France—what is now Canada.
Jogues was allowed to shorten his studies to pursue his interest in becoming a missionary himself. He was ordained a priest in January of 1636 and was immediately sent to New France to live among the Huron and Algonquian tribes. He landed at a settlement on the shores of Lake Huron that fall, but fell sick along with many from the tribe. The people of the village blamed the missionaries for the sickness and threatened to kill them, but the illness subsided before they acted.
After several years at that outpost, Jogues and several others made forays deeper into the wilderness to reach other native tribes. During one of these journeys in 1642, a group of Mohawk warriors captured Jogues, two other missionaries, and a number of Christian Hurons who were accompanying them. They brought the Christians to a village on the Mohawk river, about 40 miles west of present-day Albany, New York. There they tortured and beat the missionaries, and did worse to the Hurons. Jogues had his two index fingers severed, but survived.
Jogues was kept as a slave for some time until some Dutch traders found him and purchased his freedom. He made his way back to France where he visited his family, but his heart was still with the native people of New France. Within a few months, he was traveling back to resume missionary work there.
After a treaty brought peace with the Mohawks, Jogues went to live with them, but they were suspicious of the missionaries. When another epidemic broke out, the Mohawks blamed the newcomers—they killed Jogues and attacked his two companions on the next day.
Jogues and his companions were canonized in 1930 as the North American Martyrs—they included the two who died with him and four others who were killed during that general time. In Canada, their feast day falls on Sept. 26, and in America they are honored on Oct. 19.
St. Kateri Tekakwitha was born about ten years after Jogues died, in the same village where he gave his life for the faith.
St. Isaac Jogues and companions, as martyrs you planted the seeds of faith in North America—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Isaac Jogues is used with permission from Catholic Online. Last accessed October 4, 2024.