Daily Gospel Reflection for March 31, 2023

Join us as we reflect, ponder, and pray together inspired by today's Gospel.

Reflection by Holly Novotny

Today's Gospel: John 10:31-42

As my brother was in hospice, he asked that I stay with him until the end. We had prayed for weeks, confident that God could work a miracle and heal him totally, but it seemed that it wasn’t to be. That final week was painful and long, yet each time I walked in the gardens outside, I was overcome with the urge to praise the Lord - and I raised my hands and sang of His faithfulness. My brother was not yet 45, so this situation did not feel praiseworthy, but from the depths of myself, I just knew that God is good, even in this.

Reflecting on this passage, I question how those who encountered Jesus in the flesh could doubt His divinity. The disbelief of the people, even their determination to stone Him, is harsh given He was healing those in need. I think, though, the deeper message here is that we are called to become like Jesus, Who always does the will of His Father. Jesus knows the Father from all time, but in the flesh He learned the Word in order to teach us the way to the Father. We study and practice and through hundreds of small yeses to the Lord, we grow in deeper knowledge of God’s heart; we are to perform His works. When praising God as I accompanied my brother, it was because I knew the Father - I knew His mercy and had certainty of His grace in the sacraments. Where my own senses failed, Jesus showed me the way of obedience to the Father, tending to my brother in his need and lifting my arms up in praise, confident that God was giving my brother the greatest miracle - Himself.

Ponder:

When I consider Jesus’ response to the crowd, quoting scripture, do I recognize my need not only to read the Word of God, but to study and to know it, letting it transform my heart?

Pray:

Jesus, help me to be transformed each day by your Word. Give me the grace to become like You, that I, too, will do the works of the Father.

Click to tweet:
Where my own senses failed, Jesus showed me the way of obedience to the Father-- tending my brother, lifting my arms up in praise, confident that God was giving him the greatest miracle - Himself. #DailyGospel

Copyright 2023 Holly Novotny

Holly Novotny is a wife and mother of two young adult daughters. The Lord’s mercy and grace continue to transform her into His original plan, much to her astonishment and joy. She is a Lifetime Marian Servant and, as a graduate of the Cenacle School of Spirituality, offers spiritual direction in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Twitter: @seekingwoman Podcast: numinous.fm/redeemer