Daily Gospel Reflection

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September 1, 2025

Monday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
Listen to the Audio Version

Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had grown up,
and went according to his custom
into the synagogue on the sabbath day.
He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.

Rolling up the scroll,
he handed it back to the attendant and sat down,
and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.
He said to them,
“Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
And all spoke highly of him
and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.
They also asked, “Is this not the son of Joseph?”
He said to them, “Surely you will quote me this proverb,
‘Physician, cure yourself,’ and say, ‘Do here in your native place
the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.'”
And he said,
“Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.
Indeed, I tell you,
there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah
when the sky was closed for three and a half years
and a severe famine spread over the entire land.
It was to none of these that Elijah was sent,
but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.
Again, there were many lepers in Israel
during the time of Elisha the prophet;
yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
When the people in the synagogue heard this,
they were all filled with fury.
They rose up, drove him out of the town,
and led him to the brow of the hill
on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong.
But he passed through the midst of them and went away.

Reflection

Tony Arena ’76, ’78 M.S.
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Nazareth, a small, unremarkable town in Galilee, was filled with hometown folks who formed a close-knit community, probably going back multiple generations. The Holy Family was most likely well known and respected by their neighbors as Jesus was growing up there, no doubt enjoying friends, studying the Torah, and assisting St. Joseph’s local customers as he learned the carpentry trade.

I would say I took this gospel passage mostly for granted, until I saw the whole scenario brilliantly played out in the streaming series, The Chosen, in season three, episode three. Here, Jesus returns to his hometown having just sent his apostles on missions to various destinations to preach and perform miracles as he had taught them. Meanwhile, Jesus is shown reconnecting with his old friends in a typical picnic-like setting of today, enjoying the potluck food contributions, laughing, hugging, and even playing games with friends and neighbors. It was a revealing portrayal of Jesus’ human nature.

Later that day, the rabbi invited Jesus to read a passage from the Torah and provide his own reflection on the Scripture, with all the townspeople eagerly awaiting to hear what inspiring words he had to say. Jesus knew he was about to set off a firestorm and alienate many people he had grown to love when he declared himself the Messiah. It emphasized to me why no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. People are too familiar with you. If we were to envision a childhood friend of ours suddenly declaring himself to be the anxiously anticipated Messiah, our natural human reaction would be incredulous. I’m sure this broke Jesus’ heart, proving yet another demonstration of his sacrificial love for us.

Prayer

Rev. Steve Gibson, C.S.C.

Lord, how quickly the people would change their opinion of you. Sometimes you were the hottest thing in town; the next day you were despised and threatened with your life. Regardless of the situation, you remained constant in your mission and clung to your Father’s faithfulness. Please give us the grace to live with purpose and to believe in your presence, even when loneliness may seem our only companion. Amen.

Saint of the Day

St. Giles
St. Giles

For a number of centuries, St. Giles was one of the most popular saints in the Church—he was numbered among the 14 Holy Helpers, saints invoked for the protection against the plague.

Because of his popularity, stories about St. Giles exaggerated the historical facts of his life. The most that we can tell for certain is that he was a hermit or monk who lived near the mouth of the Rhone river in southern France sometime around the seventh century.

One of the legends that arose around his life states that he was born in Athens, Greece. It is said that as a young man, he cured a beggar when he gave him his cloak. After working other wonders, he escaped the adulation of others by traveling to France to live in solitude in a cave.

He lived in such isolation that God sent a deer to nourish him with her milk. When the local king was hunting in the forest, his party found the deer and pursued it until it hid in Giles’ cave. The cave was covered by brush, and the hunters shot arrows into the obscured opening, trying to hit the deer; an arrow struck Giles instead. The king expressed remorse and promised to send his physician to care for Giles, but Giles refused any compensation, and instead encouraged the king to build a monastery. He agreed, on the condition that Giles serve as its abbot.

Because of his injury from the arrow, Giles is patron saint of those who have a disability, and his help is also invoked by those suffering from cancer. His relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.

St. Giles, patron saint of those with a disability or who are fighting cancer—pray for us!


Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Giles is in the public domain. Last accessed April 2, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.