Daily Gospel Reflection
Join the Notre Dame family of faith. Receive God’s Word and a unique reflection in your inbox each day.
September 3, 2019
Jesus went down to Capernaum, a city in Galilee, and was teaching them on the sabbath. They were astounded at his teaching, because he spoke with authority.
In the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, “Let us alone! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.”
But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” When the demon had thrown him down before them, he came out of him without having done him any harm.
They were all amazed and kept saying to one another, “What kind of utterance is this? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and out they come!” And a report about him began to reach every place in the region.
Despite the many blessings God places in our lives, sometimes our hearts are inexplicably gripped by the demons that plague humanity. We can be prideful, impatient, or angry and lash out at those we love most. Lust may consume our thoughts and spur irresponsible action. Laziness in our daily work may lead to mindless procrastination. These impulses and many others obstruct our ability to see the needs of those around us and receive God’s persistent love.
These demons share commonalities. They do not represent who we are or who we want to be. They can occupy our minds for extended periods of time. And we have trouble shaking them alone.
The demon in today’s gospel was instantly expelled by Jesus’ words. Likewise, the lies within our mind cannot withstand the truth of God. When we take a moment during temptation to entreat God’s help, God conquers. When we humbly and honestly bring our weaknesses to God, God becomes our strength. When we fill our hearts with Scripture and cultivate a constant relationship with God, we allow God to dwell in our souls and prevent our worst impulses from ruling over us.
Every temptation presents the difficult but ultimately free choice to consciously reject sin and choose God, first in our hearts, and then in our words and actions. That choice gives us peace, freedom, and the strength to serve God in the world rather than our own interests. Just as, in the gospel, “a report of Jesus reached every place in the region,” so too can our lives be a message proclaiming the glory of God’s great love.
Prayer
Lord, help us to understand the joy that the onlookers shared when they saw the defeat of hatred and the jealousy of the spirits that were attacking them. May we also experience your forgiveness when we admit our faults and trust in your mercy. May we be confident in our faith and may our good efforts, together with your mercy, bring us to salvation.
Saint of the Day
St. Gregory the Great was a civilian official before becoming a monk, a cardinal, and finally, one of the most influential popes the Church has ever known.
He was born in 540, the son of a wealthy Roman senator. He was educated by the best teachers in Rome, and when he was still a young man, the emperor named him chief magistrate of Rome.
He filled this role for five years but clearly had other desires on his heart than his political career. When his father died, Gregory turned his home into a monastery and became a monk. He used his inheritance to build six other monasteries in the region.
When it came time to select a new pope, the faithful unanimously selected him by popular acclaim. As pope, Gregory was filled with zeal—he worked tirelessly and his contributions profoundly shaped the life of the Church.
As leader of the Church, he kept a close watch over the clergy and encouraged them towards holiness. He used papal money to ransom prisoners and to care for persecuted Jews and victims of famine and sickness. People of his day called him the father of the city of Rome, and the joy of the world.
He once observed English children being sold in the Roman Forum as slaves, and the sight made him decide to send missionaries to Canterbury—this was the beginning of Christianity among the Anglo-Saxons. He also sent missionaries to France, Spain, and parts of Africa during a time when Europe was being overturned by Lombards, barbarian forces from the north. These efforts helped Christianize these forces—Gregory himself went to visit the king of the Lombards.
Gregory is known best for his contributions to the liturgy. He reformed the Mass and the daily prayer of the Church and wrote prayers we still use today as well as commentaries on Scripture that shaped theology through the Middle Ages. He also collected melodies of plain chant used in the liturgy—today that style is known as Gregorian chant, after him.
Gregory is one of the four great doctors of the Church, along with St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, and St. Jerome. These four and 33 other doctors have been singled out for their ability to articulate and teach the faith.
Gregory died in 604, and his relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica. He is patron of teachers and students, musicians and masons. He is depicted in several places on campus, here in stained glass from the Basilica and the second window from the chapel in Lyons Hall. He is often shown with a bird nearby—it is said that the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove spoke into his ear when he preached.
“The proof of love is in the works,” St. Gregory said. “Where love exists, it works great things. But when it ceases to act, it ceases to exist.”
Pope St. Gregory the Great, you were the monk who became one of the greatest popes ever—pray for us!