Great Faith

The WORD today (see http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/040119.cfm) reminds me why I should have great faith in God. 

They say that success can drown people. People who have achieved much and who are important in society often think so highly of themselves. They want things done their way, their time. They are used to being the boss, the one in command, the one people follow. And it is irritating to see people drowning in success and power. Good thing the royal official in the gospel was not like this. 

In the gospel we see the story of the royal official asking Jesus to come to his house to heal his son. We already see his faith, traveling just to see Jesus and asking him to heal his son. We also see his humility. He initially wanted Jesus to come with him and heal his son. However, he did not get this. Instead, Jesus just told him to go home and his son will live. We would think that as a mighty leader, he would act out, grumble, or force Jesus to come to him. But no. He was humble enough to accept what Jesus said, even if it was different from what he wanted and expected. Also, we see how great his faith is when he believed Jesus who told him to go home because his son will live. 

Wow. What a faith! So Inspiring. 

Nowadays, it's hard to believe someone just on the basis of words spoken. We want a written document. We want proof. We want to be sure. 

That's something we do not need with Jesus. We can count on his word. When he says he has great plans for us, he definitely has. When he says he will heal us, he definitely will. When he says his love endures forever, it definitely does. When he says we can do anything through him, we definitely can. 

We can trust God's word. 

We may be in a similar situation with the royal official. There is probably something we are praying for. Situation may be tough. Let us come to God in faith, and believe him when he answers us, especially when, like the royal official, we do not get the answer we want, or we do not see yet the confirmation of our prayers. 

What am I praying for right now? What is God's answer to me? Do I believe his word - the bible? Or do I first want to see or experience a proof or sign from him before I believe?

May we always have faith in God, no matter how he answers us, especially if his answer is different from what we are expecting. 

Father God,

Thank you for today. Thank you for another day to live. Thank you for another week. Thank you for all the blessings. Thank you for the beautiful reminder and inspiration. Lord, sorry for the times I do not trust in you enough. Sorry for wanting things answered my way. Sorry for not having a strong faith in you. I pray that you help me have faith like the royal official. May I always have faith in you and your Word and your plans for me, even if I may not yet see or feel it in my life. Continue to surprise me, and use me to build your kingdom. Amen.

Blessed Week!

In Christ,

-g-

Daily Readings

April 1 2019

Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Lectionary: 244

Reading 1 IS 65:17-21

Thus says the LORD:
Lo, I am about to create new heavens
and a new earth;
The things of the past shall not be remembered
or come to mind.
Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness
in what I create;
For I create Jerusalem to be a joy
and its people to be a delight;
I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and exult in my people.
No longer shall the sound of weeping be heard there,
or the sound of crying;
No longer shall there be in it
an infant who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not round out his full lifetime;
He dies a mere youth who reaches but a hundred years,
and he who fails of a hundred shall be thought accursed.
They shall live in the houses they build,
and eat the fruit of the vineyards they plant.

Responsorial Psalm PS 30:2 AND 4, 5-6, 11-12A AND 13B

R. (2a)  I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
I will extol you, O LORD, for you drew me clear
and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
O LORD, you brought me up from the nether world;
you preserved me from among those going down into the pit.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
Sing praise to the LORD, you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger lasts but a moment;
a lifetime, his good will.
At nightfall, weeping enters in,
but with the dawn, rejoicing.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
"Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me;
O LORD, be my helper."
You changed my mourning into dancing;
O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

Verse Before The Gospel AM 5:14

Seek good and not evil so that you may live,
and the LORD will be with you.

Gospel JN 4:43-54

At that time Jesus left [Samaria] for Galilee.
For Jesus himself testified
that a prophet has no honor in his native place.
When he came into Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him,
since they had seen all he had done in Jerusalem at the feast;
for they themselves had gone to the feast.

Then he returned to Cana in Galilee,
where he had made the water wine.
Now there was a royal official whose son was ill in Capernaum.
When he heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea,
he went to him and asked him to come down
and heal his son, who was near death.
Jesus said to him,
"Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe."
The royal official said to him,
"Sir, come down before my child dies."
Jesus said to him, "You may go; your son will live."
The man believed what Jesus said to him and left.
While the man was on his way back,
his slaves met him and told him that his boy would live.
He asked them when he began to recover.
They told him,
"The fever left him yesterday, about one in the afternoon."
The father realized that just at that time Jesus had said to him,
"Your son will live,"
and he and his whole household came to believe.
Now this was the second sign Jesus did
when he came to Galilee from Judea.