Christ the Teacher
Are we listening for Christ the Teacher, who is that something greater, today, or do we drown him out amidst the noise of our lives? Do we find ourselves searching for a sign from someone or something other than Christ to prove that God still loves us? Christ is not demanding like an angry boss or a screaming infant. Instead, he seeks our attention like a breathtaking sunrise or a peaceful, steady rain. He is constant, present, quiet, ready to bless and to teach us the truth when we are ready to notice and to listen. As we gaze back at the image of Christ that Oliverio presents to us, how can we better attune our hearts and minds to the words of our Savior?
Contemplate the Artwork
Wednesday, February 21, 2024 12:00 pm
John Cahill ’27 M.Div. is in his first year of vows and third year of seminary in the Congregation of Holy Cross. The formation process Holy Cross priests undertake during seminary is a focused and deliberate time of discernment and growth to prepare them for life as a vowed religious. Like all Christians, this is a call to continual conversion and formation as a disciple of Christ the Teacher.
Christ Blessing by Alessandro Oliverio embodies for us an image of Christ the Teacher. We can imagine his gaze is focused on someone—maybe one of the disciples. His right hand extended in a gesture of blessing could also be seen as a posture of authority, a dramatic pause at the end of sharing one of his many parables. His left-hand clasps a book—perhaps a book of the law or one of the prophets.
In the Mass readings for the second Wednesday in Lent, the church focuses on the story of Jonah, a prophet sent to warn Nineveh and speak the words of salvation to a people about to cross a point of no return. This is read alongside today’s gospel in which Christ reproaches the people around him for their hard and incredulous hearts, saying, “At the judgment, the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because at the preaching of Jonah, they repented, and there is something greater than Jonah here.”
Are we listening for Christ the Teacher, who is that something greater, today, or do we drown him out amidst the noise of our lives? Do we find ourselves searching for a sign from someone or something other than Christ to prove that God still loves us? Christ is not demanding like an angry boss or a screaming infant. Instead, he seeks our attention like a breathtaking sunrise or a peaceful, steady rain. He is constant, present, quiet, ready to bless and to teach us the truth when we are ready to notice and to listen. As we gaze back at the image of Christ that Oliverio presents to us, how can we better attune our hearts and minds to the words of our Savior?
This Lent, ThinkND invites you to join FaithND and the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art for a journey of Lenten discovery through some of the most significant liturgical paintings in the Raclin Murphy collection, challenging you to contemplate prayer, fasting, sinfulness, mercy, grace, and God’s infinite love from the perspectives of the artist’s gaze. To subscribe to the FaithND Daily Gospel Reflection visit faith.nd.edu/signup.
For closer viewing of this work through the digital collections of the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art, please click here.
View EventMeet the Speaker: John Cahill '27 M.Div.
John Cahill ’27 M.Div. is in his first year of vows and third year of seminary in the Congregation of Holy Cross. More about John:
Hometown: Charleston, South Carolina
Year in Formation: Temporarily Professed – 1st Year in Vows
College: University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, IN), 2018
College Degree: BA, Program of Liberal Studies
Graduate School: University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, IN), 2027
Graduate Degree: M.Div.
Previous Jobs: Corporate beer sales (2018-2021)
Patron Saint: St. Martin of Tours
Favorite Movie: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Favorite Books: Crime and Punishmentby Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene, Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
Favorite Music: J.S. Bach, Rufus du Sol, Mandolin Orange
Hobbies: Cycling (road), Baroque music
Most Memorable Prayer/Liturgy you have Attended: Solemn Mass for the Feast of All Souls, St. James Cathedral, Seattle, 2019
Place of Pilgrimage You Most Want to Visit and why: St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal. This site is a powerful example of the love and healing God gives the world through the charism and ministry of Holy Cross.
Favorite Way to Pray: Eucharistic Adoration
Favorite Devotion: the Rosary
What drew you to Holy Cross? The priests and brothers I met during my undergraduate years at Notre Dame drew me to Holy Cross. Each man loved joyfully in such a way that I wanted what they seemed to have. As I learned more about the Congregation, the charism of education and the mission-centered history of Holy Cross drew me even more.
Your Vocation Story: I felt God’s call towards the end of my undergraduate education but told myself that, by accepting a corporate sales job across the country, this call would fizzle out. It didn’t — God is persistent. After three years of work, I had my discernment visit to Moreau Seminary, and this call to vowed religious life was (and still is) confirmed many times over!
Favorite Verse: “Abide in my love” (John 15:9)
Favorite Quote: “Trust the past to God’s mercy, the present to His love, and the future to His providence.” – St. Augustine
How can visitors to this page pray for you? Often!
For more information on the Congregation of Holy Cross, please visit their website.