The WORD today reminds me to have firm faith in God.
In the movie "Faith like Potatoes", Angus Buchan's faith is obvious when he said that "the condition for a miracle is difficulty. The condition for a great miracle is impossibility" and his faith enabled him to experience a great miracle.
In the gospel, we see someone with great faith that Jesus himself commended. The centurion had great faith in Jesus. He did not need him to physically go to his house. He knew that just the mere word of Jesus is enough. Not only that, he asked for healing not for himself or his family, but for his servant! What a great person. What a great leader. A good person full of faith in God. Inspiring.
Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith
In fact, this faith is so great and inspiring that we remember it every time we celebrate the holy mass.
Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant (soul) will be healed
Of course, Jesus honored this man's faith, and let him witness a miracle. Jesus never disappoints. He rewarded the centurion’s faith in Him.
“You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you.” And at that very hour his servant was healed.
Nowadays, we are faced with situations that will test our faith. We have a lot of questions. When will this pandemic end? Will politics and corruption in our country improve? Will peace and order be stabilized? Does God really have a great plan for me? Will I be healed of this sickness? Will I be able to get out of debt? When will my career improve? What will happen to me during this pandemic? These are things that we worry about. Things that test our faith. However, we are reminded in the gospel of the love and power of Jesus. He healed the man's servant by his mere word. He healed peter's mother in law. He healed all the sick and those possessed who were brought to him. Nothing is impossible for the power of God.
Do I have faith in God, especially during difficult situations? How do I react when seemingly trapped and hopeless? Do I get strength and take refuge in other things and other people, or do I have firm faith in God? What seemingly impossible situation did God take me out of? When did I experience God’s great power and love? What challenging or impossible situation am I faced with now? What is he telling me today?
May we be inspired by the centurion’s great and firm faith, and be assured of Jesus' love and power.
Father God,
Thank you for today. Thank you for another day to live. Thank you for another weekend. Thank you for all the blessings. Lord, I am sorry for doubting your love and power, especially when the situation seems to be impossible to get out of. Sorry for being inpatient with your plans for me. Sorry for losing my faith when situations are tough. Sorry for not having firm faith. Help me, Lord. Increase my faith in and love for you. May I have faith like the centurion, especially with the concerns I have in life. May I have faith like the centurion especially when the situations are against me. Use my faith and enable great things to happen for your purpose and glory. Amen.
Blessed Weekend!
In Christ,
-g-
Ps
See related reflection:
June 27, 2020
Saturday of Week 12; St. Cyril of Alexandria
FIRST READING
Lamentations 2:2, 10-14, 18-19
The Lord has consumed without pity all the dwellings of Jacob; He has torn down in his anger the fortresses of daughter Judah; He has brought to the ground in dishonor her king and her princes.
On the ground in silence sit the old men of daughter Zion; They strew dust on their heads and gird themselves with sackcloth; The maidens of Jerusalem bow their heads to the ground.
Worn out from weeping are my eyes, within me all is in ferment; My gall is poured out on the ground because of the downfall of the daughter of my people, As child and infant faint away in the open spaces of the town.
In vain they ask their mothers, “Where is the grain?” As they faint away like the wounded in the streets of the city, And breathe their last in their mothers’ arms.
To what can I liken or compare you, O daughter Jerusalem? What example can I show you for your comfort, virgin daughter Zion? For great as the sea is your downfall; who can heal you?
Your prophets had for you false and specious visions; They did not lay bare your guilt, to avert your fate; They beheld for you in vision false and misleading portents.
Cry out to the Lord; moan, O daughter Zion! Let your tears flow like a torrent day and night; Let there be no respite for you,
no repose for your eyes.
no repose for your eyes.
Rise up, shrill in the night, at the beginning of every watch; Pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord; Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your little ones Who faint from hunger at the corner of every street.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
Psalm 74:1b-2, 3-5, 6-7, 20-21
R. (19b) Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.
Why, O God, have you cast us off forever? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture? Remember your flock which you built up of old, the tribe you redeemed as your inheritance, Mount Zion, where you took up your abode.
R. Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.
Turn your steps toward the utter ruins; toward all the damage the enemy has done in the sanctuary. Your foes roar triumphantly in your shrine; they have set up their tokens of victory. They are like men coming up with axes to a clump of trees.
R. Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.
With chisel and hammer they hack at all the paneling of the sanctuary. They set your sanctuary on fire; the place where your name abides they have razed and profaned.
R. Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.
Look to your covenant, for the hiding places in the land and the plains are full of violence. May the humble not retire in confusion; may the afflicted and the poor praise your name.
R. Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.
ALLELUIA
Matthew 8:17
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Christ took away our infirmities and bore our diseases.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GOSPEL
Matthew 8:5-17
When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.” He said to him, “I will come and cure him.” The centurion said in reply, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man subject to authority,
with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I say to you, many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven, but the children of the Kingdom will be driven out into the outer darkness, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.” And Jesus said to the centurion, “You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you.” And at that very hour his servant was healed.
with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I say to you, many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven, but the children of the Kingdom will be driven out into the outer darkness, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.” And Jesus said to the centurion, “You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you.” And at that very hour his servant was healed.
Jesus entered the house of Peter, and saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. He touched her hand, the fever left her, and she rose and waited on him.
When it was evening, they brought him many who were possessed by demons, and he drove out the spirits by a word and cured all the sick, to fulfill what had been said by Isaiah the prophet:
He took away our infirmities and bore our diseases.
No comments:
Post a Comment