Daily Gospel Reflection for March 17, 2015

Today's Gospel: John 5:1-16

Optional Memorial of Saint Patrick, Bishop

Have you ever wondered why Jesus “slipped away because there was a crowd"? Even in this one sentence that may seem somewhat insignificant, we find a lesson to take into our own lives. In the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, Scott Hahn shares a teaching of St. Cyril of Jerusalem in his Sermon on the Paralytic. St. Cyril teaches that Christ disappeared after He had healed the paralytic so as not to bring attention to Himself in vaingloriousness. How often do we want praise and recognition for the good things we have done? Instead, we are asked to grow in humility rather than in worldly recognition. It’s a hard desire to acquire, this humility and nothingness. The Litany of Humility is one of the toughest prayers to pray, but one which can help us to grow in humility and shrink in the need to “be someone.” As we gain the ability of heart to pray this prayer and mean it, we begin to desire less and less the need for approval from others simply because we find peace in the approval of God.

Ponder:

Who am I really out to impress? Will I really find peace and joy in shrinking back from recognition? Can I try praying the Litany of Humility for nine days and see if I find it easier to slip away because there is a crowd?

Pray:

The Litany of Humility

O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,
Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being loved...
From the desire of being extolled ...
From the desire of being honored ...
From the desire of being praised ...
From the desire of being preferred to others...
From the desire of being consulted ...
From the desire of being approved ...
From the fear of being humiliated ...
From the fear of being despised...
From the fear of suffering rebukes ...
From the fear of being calumniated ...
From the fear of being forgotten ...
From the fear of being ridiculed ...
From the fear of being wronged ...
From the fear of being suspected ...

That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be esteemed more than I ...
That, in the opinion of the world,
others may increase and I may decrease ...
That others may be chosen and I set aside ...
That others may be praised and I unnoticed ...
That others may be preferred to me in everything...
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should…Amen.

We thank our friends at The Word Among Us for providing our gospel reflection team with copies of Abide In My Word 2015: Mass Readings at Your Fingertips. To pray the daily gospels with this wonderful resource, visit The Word Among Us.

Copyright 2015 Diane Schwind