Daily Gospel Reflection
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October 21, 2021
Jesus said to his disciples:
“I have come to set the earth on fire,
and how I wish it were already blazing!
There is a baptism with which I must be baptized,
and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!
Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth?
No, I tell you, but rather division.
From now on a household of five will be divided,
three against two and two against three;
a father will be divided against his son
and a son against his father,
a mother against her daughter
and a daughter against her mother,
a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”
Jesus’ declaration to divide families is shocking because Christ is usually a force for reconciliation, not conflict.
I think we may gain insight by looking at the preceding gospel passage. In it, Jesus implores his disciples to see him for who he is: the Son of God. Christ makes it clear that he does not desire division but attachment to him—a disciple whose heart has been set on fire to make God known, loved, and served. Within that context, Jesus is promising to turn the world upside down, including ideas of family allegiance.
In his day, tribal and familial bonds were among the most sacrosanct. For this reason, Jesus’ Jewish contemporaries looked askance at his ministry to sinners and Gentiles. In their minds, these outsiders were not the right people who deserved care. However, Jesus’ declaration that he will “establish division” within the family is harkening his disciples to reorient their priorities, divide themselves from their old ways, and begin anew. He wants to detach them from their idols.
What a challenge it is to make God the center of our lives! Just think of the many things that are idols for us: fame, wealth, social media, career achievement, politics, and yes, even our familial loyalties. While none are inherently evil, they can dominate us and blind us to how we ought to follow God’s will in our lives. I am keenly aware that even as I encourage the students that I teach each day to detach themselves from their screens in class, I am chastised by my cell phone’s screen time report at the end of the week.
I believe the shocking language of today’s gospel is a healing barb meant to pull our hearts toward God. It is not a prophecy or requirement that every family must be at odds with each other, but it is an invitation to refocus our hearts towards what should be our greatest priority.
Through this newly focused outlook, may we “set the earth on fire” with God’s hope, mercy, and love.
Prayer
Thank you, gracious and loving God, for the gifts and blessings you have given to us. All that we have comes from you. May your Spirit grant us generous hearts, willing to share what we have in time, treasure, and talent with those in need. Grant us hearts overflowing with loving generosity.
Saint of the Day
St. Ursula's legend has its origins in an ancient stone in a church in Cologne, Germany. How an image of this obscure German saint ended up in a stained glass window in a basilica in northern Indiana is its own unique story.
In the church of St. Ursula in Cologne, there is a stone with a Latin inscription from c. 400. The inscription indicates that a senator named Clematius received divine visions directing him to rebuild a ruined basilica on that very spot in honor of several women who had been martyred there. The visions did not specify the names of the women who were martyred.
But, as the visions seemed to indicate, a number of women had been martyred in Cologne, and they must have been highly revered by the community to have a church built in their honor. How the church had fallen into ruin was unclear. Since the church was named for a Saint Ursula, one of the women, one can deduce, must have been named Ursula.
Legend has filled in the gaps in this record. Ursula, the story goes, was the daughter of a Christian king in Britain, and betrothed to the son of a pagan king. Because Ursula wanted to remain a virgin, she asked for a three-year delay to the marriage. Thus, Ursula took her ladies-in-waiting and escaped from England. Eventually, Ursula and her companions ended up in Cologne, where they were captured by Attila and his Huns and killed for their faith around 383.
When Christopher Columbus sailed to the New World, he named the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean in honor of the virgin St. Ursula and her companions. St. Ursula is also the patron saint of the Ursuline Order of nuns, who founded schools for the education of girls and women throughout Europe. She is the patron saint of Catholic education, of students and teachers, and of the University of Paris.
When the Congregation of Holy Cross established Notre Dame, St. Ursula was one of the patrons invoked by the French priests and brothers of that order in intercession for the success of the University.
St. Ursula's relics rest in the reliquary chapel of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. In one stained glass image from the Basilica, St. Ursula holds the flag of England in one hand, and the flowering palm of martyrdom in the other.
St. Ursula, patron saint of Catholic education—pray for us!