Daily Gospel Reflection
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October 5, 2019
The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!”
He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
At that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to the childlike; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
Then turning to the disciples, Jesus said to them privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”
“Rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” The disciples rejoice at the power to perform miracles and drive out demons in the name of Christ but Jesus emphasizes that they are powerful on account of their participation in the name which is above all names. To perform miracles then is ultimately participation in the Word through whom all things are made, and in his Incarnation, by whom all things are made right.
At the start of Lent, the catechumens who are preparing for baptism at the Easter Vigil inscribe their names into the Book of the Elect, which is present in every diocese. This inscription of the name signifies the ultimate reality that all Christians, through grace and faith, have their names inscribed in the Book of Life. What is heaven if not eternal life in the one who is the Author of Life? Thus, since all power over heaven and earth is given to Christ, we share in his power only by living according to his example.
Our names, in many ways, convey who we are at a core level, and our words convey meaning. Words spoken in Christ have the power to give life and bring healing, but if our words are not from Christ, they cannot. I often find that I need to think a great deal more before I speak. If Christ loves mankind so much that he has written our names at the core of his being, then should we not also write out the Word, which is life and love itself, through our own speech and actions? Only by receiving the Word and mirroring it back to the world through our own words can we like the disciples in today’s gospel, work the wonders that Christ offers.
Prayer
O God, your will reveals your love for us. May Christ’s triumph over evil, sin, and death light the fire of your love deep within us. As we contemplate your protecting care, help us not submit to the lures of the evil one. Grant us the competence to see and courage to act in your name when we face temptation. Attentive to your voice, may we heed the Spirit, who lives and reigns with you forever and ever. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Many people now know St. Faustina Kowalska for her visions that established the devotion to Divine Mercy, but it wasn’t until after she died that these visions became known to anyone besides her spiritual director.
Faustina was born Helena Kowalska in Lodz, Poland, in 1905. The Kowalskas were a large peasant family who depended upon their children to help keep food on the table. From a young age, Helena felt a calling to enter religious life, but in order to continue providing for her family, Helena worked as a housekeeper.
When she was nineteen, while attending a dance in a park, Helena saw a vision of Jesus suffering. She immediately went to a nearby church to pray and received direction from Jesus to leave immediately for Warsaw to enter a convent. That very night, Helena packed a small bag and left for Warsaw without her parents' knowledge or consent.
In Warsaw, Helena visited several convents but was turned away, due to her poverty and lack of education. After several weeks, one convent finally accepted her on the condition that she pay for her habit. Helena did not know anything about this particular community but felt certain that she had been led there.
Helena worked as a maid for a year to earn enough money to pay for her habit, and, in 1926 she joined the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, taking the name Sister Maria Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament. She served as cook, porter, and gardener in convents in Poland and Lithuania.
In 1930, while Faustina was praying in her room, Jesus appeared to her wearing a white robe with red and white rays emanating from his heart. He told her to have his image painted with these words inscribed below: "Jesus, I trust in you," in Polish: "Jezu, ufam Tobie." Jesus expressed his desire for a feast of Mercy to be established and for increased devotion to his abundant Divine Mercy.
Faustina began taking spiritual direction from the convent’s confessor, Fr. Michał Sopoćko, a professor of theology at Vilnius University. When Faustina told Fr. Michał of her visions, he recommended she be examined by a psychologist. After a number of tests, Faustina was declared to be of sound mind. Fr. Michał told Faustina to begin keeping a record of the visions and helped her find an artist to paint the image Jesus had requested.
In a later vision, Faustina recorded a series of prayers—the Chaplet of Divine Mercy—to be used in the devotion to the Divine Mercy. She wrote that the prayers served three purposes: to obtain mercy, to trust in Jesus’ mercy, and to show mercy to others.
Devotion to Divine Mercy spread quickly in popularity throughout the 1930s. In 1936, Faustina became critically ill with tuberculosis. As the disease slowly conquered her body, Faustina suffered intensely for several years. Her visions persisted, until she finally died on October 5, 1938, at the age of thirty-three.
After her death, the Vatican initiated an official inquiry into Faustina's visions and diary, led by the Polish theologian Ignacy Rozycki. Faustina’s visions were approved as authentic and her diary was published first in Polish in 1981, lauded as "a document of Catholic mysticism of exceptional worth, not only for the Church in Poland, but also for the Universal Church." Devotion to the Divine Mercy was a source of strength for the Polish people who suffered greatly in World War II. In 1958, Pope Pius XII blessed the image of Jesus that Faustina had commissioned to be painted. In 1965, Archbishop Karol Wojtyla of Krakow initiated the review process of Faustina’s life and visions for canonization. When Archbishop Wojtyla was elected Pope John Paul II in 1978, he sped up the canonization process significantly: Faustina was beatified in 1993, and canonized in 2000.
As part of the canonization of Faustina, Pope John Paul II also declared the second Sunday of Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday. In Faustina's visions, Christ himself had expressed a desire for that feast to be celebrated:
"On that day, the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain the complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet."
(Diary, 699)
To learn even more about Saint Faustina Kowalska, watch this video lecture from the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame.
St. Faustina Kowalska, who shared with the world the deep fountain of Divine Mercy—pray for us!
Image Credit: (1) Our featured image of St. Faustina is in the public domain. Last accessed September 27, 2024 on Wikimedia Commons. (2) The Divine Mercy image used here is also in the public domain. Last accessed September 27, 2024 on Wikimedia Commons.
