Daily Gospel Reflection
Join the Notre Dame family of faith. Receive God’s Word and a unique reflection in your inbox each day.
September 10, 2021
Jesus told his disciples a parable:
“Can a blind person guide a blind person?
Will not both fall into a pit?
No disciple is superior to the teacher;
but when fully trained,
every disciple will be like his teacher.
Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye,
but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?
How can you say to your brother,
‘Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,’
when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye?
You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first;
then you will see clearly
to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye.”
Reflection
There’s nothing wrong with reading this passage as a general moral exhortation. Most of us could learn to be more diligent in the examination of our conscience and to be more gentle in our scrutiny of others’ behavior. From this perspective Jesus’ message is close to that of Michael Jackson in his 1988 hit song Man in the Mirror: “If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself, and then make a change.” But there’s something else going on in this passage from the Gospel of Luke.
In verse 42 Jesus addresses an unnamed opponent as a “hypocrite.” What would this term have meant in the time of Christ? Jesus was certainly not condemning followers of the Jewish law. In Psalm 119 the speaker addresses God: “My heart is set on fulfilling your laws; they are my reward forever. I hate every hypocrite; your teaching I love” (vv. 112-13).
To be a hypocrite was to love the law of God imperfectly or not to love the law of God at all. Jesus in this passage is calling people to a deeply Jewish teaching: the love of the law of God. The prophet Jeremiah heard God tell him about Israel: “I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts” (Jer 31:33).
Jesus called his followers to an ancient teaching, but he also offered them a new teaching. Everything Jesus said and did revealed something new about the merciful nature of God (see paragraph 516 of the Catechism). Some people were receptive to his new teaching. Others, out of pride or malevolence, hypocritically judged him to be a blasphemer. Let us pray for soft and gentle hearts, receptive to the new teaching of Christ and eager to be his disciples.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I place myself in your presence. I have set aside this moment so I can listen to your direction for this day. I believe that you are present with all the graces I need. I hope in you, Lord, because only in You can I eternally trust. Give me the awareness and courage to remove the beam from my eye that I might love you more dearly, see you more clearly, and follow you more nearly.
Saint of the Day
St. Nicholas of Tolentino was a priest in 13th century Italy who is known for his miracles among the poor and neglected.
His parents were childless until they visited a shrine of St. Nicholas and asked for a son who would serve God. The couple received a boy and named him after the saint who had helped them conceive.
As a child, Nicholas imitated hermits and would hide in the caves near his home and pray. As he matured, he heard God calling him to dedicate his life to prayer and reflection, and when he heard an Augustinian priest preaching one day, he resolved to join that order of priests.
While in formation, he complemented his theological studies by distributing food to the poor at the monastery gate. His first miracle happened when he placed his hand on the head of a sick boy and said, “The good God will heal you.” The boy was instantly cured. A few years later he was ordained a priest, and became famous for using the same words to heal a woman who was blind.
He settled in a monastery in Tolentino, and spent the rest of his life there preaching in the streets. Though the city was torn by civil discord, he raised people’s attention to heaven. Many were moved to conversion upon hearing him.
One man, however, was not moved. He was used to a wayward, evil life, and whenever he came upon Nicholas preaching in the streets, he would try to shout him down and disrupt the crowd’s concentration. Nicholas refused to be intimidated—he was resolute and patient, and this steadfastness began to have an effect on the man’s heart.
One day, the man brought friends to fight with swords in the street near Nicholas as he preached, so as to cause people to scatter. Nicholas persisted, though, and the man put down his sword and began to listen. Afterwards, he apologized to Nicholas and began to reform his life.
Soon after this, Nicholas became a sought-after confessor and would sometimes spend the whole day hearing confessions. He also went into the slums of Tolentino to care for the poor and sick—many stories of conversions and healings were attributed to his work. “Say nothing of this,” Nicholas would say after an extraordinary event due to his intercession. “Give thanks to God, not to me. I am only an earthen vessel, a poor sinner.”
Nicholas spent the last year of his life suffering from an illness that killed him. He got up from his bed only once, to hear the confession of one who was burdened with a great sin, but refused to speak to anyone but Nicholas. He died on this date in 1305 and his relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.
St. Nicholas is patron saint of babies, those who work on the water, and those who are dying.
St. Nicholas of Tolentino, you were the monk who inspired conversions with miracles and preaching, pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Nicholas of Tolentino is in the public domain. Last accessed April 3, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
