Wednesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
“The things that come out from within are what defile.”
The saint who the Church remembers tomorrow, St. Josephine Bakhita, provides a beautiful image of the contrast we heard in our Gospel today: what comes from outside and what comes from within.
For the young girl, Bakhita, from the outside came slavery. Her slave dealers gave her this name, which means “fortunate.” Sold and resold in the markets of El Obeid and of Khartoum, she experienced humiliations and much suffering. During her last agony, she relived the terrible days of her slavery and more than once begged the nurse who assisted her: “Please, loosen the chains… they are heavy!” We can readily imagine the callousness of her slave traders which came from within them.
Contrast this with a quite different exterior, coming from a very different interior:
[In Italy] for another 50 years, this humble Daughter of Charity, a true witness of the love of God, lived in the community in Schio, engaged in various services: cooking, sewing, embroidery and attending to the door. When she was on duty at the door, she would gently lay her hands on the heads of the children who daily attended the Canossian schools and caress them. Her amiable voice, which had the inflection and rhythm of the music of her country, was pleasing to the little ones, comforting to the poor and suffering and encouraging for those who knocked at the door of the Institute. Her humility, her simplicity and her constant smile won the hearts of all the citizens. Her sisters in the community esteemed her for her inalterable sweet nature, her exquisite goodness and her deep desire to make the Lord known. “Be good, love the Lord, pray for those who do not know Him. What a great grace it is to know God!”
This wonderful African saint understood very well what defiles a person and what ennobles!
Reflection by Fr. Xavier Nacke, OSB
Posted in Articles for Ordinary Time, Daily Reflections