Hello everyone! Heyo! Welcome back to Scattering Flowers with Elise and Miles, a podcast where we read the daily Gospels and the Saint of the Day.
Let’s get started! Today is Friday, October 31st, and the Gospel reading is Luke 14, 1 through 6, and the Scripture to reflect on is Luke 14, 3.
Is it lawful to cure on the Sabbath or not?
Once again, it’s the Sabbath, and the leaders are watching Jesus.
This time, Jesus is having dinner with the leaders.
Among them is a man suffering with a disease that makes his arms and legs very painful.
Jesus knows people are watching him.
He also knows that the Sabbath is an important day to praise God.
Jesus asked them, is it lawful to cure on the Sabbath?
Everyone is silent, so Jesus cures the man even though people are watching him.
The leaders did not know what to say.
They have seen a miracle.
Today’s Saint of the Day is Blessed Benedict Doswa.
He was born 1946 and died 1990.
He is a patron saint of against witchcraft and persecuted Christians.
Samuel Doswa belonged to the Lemba tribe in rural Limpopo, the northmost providence of South Africa.
He grew up observing Jewish customs, converted to Catholicism when he was 17, taking the baptismal name Benedict.
Benedict served on the village council and was the principal of the village school.
He was very active in his Catholic community as well and was instrumental in building the parish church.
A loving father, Benedict and his wife had eight children.
When he became Catholic, Benedict made no secret that he was against the traditional local belief in witchcraft.
When people got angry and turned against him though, a week after his refusal, Benedict stopped the car he was driving because the road had been blocked by tree logs.
When he got out of his car, a mob attacked and killed him according to the diocesan investigation of his death.
Benedict’s last words were, God, into your hands receive my spirit.
Try to imagine if you were there with Jesus when he did that miracle.
How do you think you would have responded?
Would you have been amazed?
I think I would have.
Benedict refused to go along with the tribe’s way of believing.
We can follow his example by having the courage to stand up for our faith.
Let’s pray.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, dear God, help us to find ways to see your love throughout the day and be amazed and help us to have grace and courage to defend our faith.
Saint Benedict, pray for us.
Amen.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen.
Thank you so much for listening.
We’ll be back next week scattering more flowers.
See ya!