The WORD
today (see http://usccb.org/bible/readings/070117.cfm)
reminds me that I should have firm faith in God's WORD.
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.
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.
“You may go; as you
have believed, let it be done for you.” And at that very hour his servant was
healed.
In the first reading, we also
see a miracle. Abraham and Sarah were both old. They probably lost all hope of
having a child. But they had faith. Abraham had great faith. And because of
that, they experienced a great miracle.
Nowadays,
we are faced with situations that will test our faith. We have a lot of
questions. 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? These are things that we worry about. Things that test our
faith. However, we are reminded in the readings 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. He gave Abraham and Sarah a child in their old age.
What can Jesus not do?
May we be inspired by the
centurion and Abraham's faith, and assured by 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
and 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 Abraham 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-
Saturday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 376
Reading 1GN 8:1-15
as Abraham sat in the entrance of his tent,
while the day was growing hot.
Looking up, he saw three men standing nearby.
When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them;
and bowing to the ground, he said:
"Sir, if I may ask you this favor,
please do not go on past your servant.
Let some water be brought, that you may bathe your feet,
and then rest yourselves under the tree.
Now that you have come this close to your servant,
let me bring you a little food, that you may refresh yourselves;
and afterward you may go on your way."
The men replied, "Very well, do as you have said."
Abraham hastened into the tent and told Sarah,
"Quick, three measures of fine flour!
Knead it and make rolls."
He ran to the herd, picked out a tender, choice steer,
and gave it to a servant, who quickly prepared it.
Then Abraham got some curds and milk,
as well as the steer that had been prepared,
and set these before them;
and he waited on them under the tree while they ate.
They asked him, "Where is your wife Sarah?"
He replied, "There in the tent."
One of them said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year,
and Sarah will then have a son."
Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent, just behind him.
Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years,
and Sarah had stopped having her womanly periods.
So Sarah laughed to herself and said,
"Now that I am so withered and my husband is so old,
am I still to have sexual pleasure?"
But the LORD said to Abraham: "Why did Sarah laugh and say,
'Shall I really bear a child, old as I am?'
Is anything too marvelous for the LORD to do?
At the appointed time, about this time next year, I will return to you,
and Sarah will have a son."
Because she was afraid, Sarah dissembled, saying, "I didn't laugh."
But he replied, "Yes you did."
Responsorial PsalmLUKE 1:46-47, 48-49, 50 AND 53, 54-55
"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior."
R. The Lord has remembered his mercy.
"For he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name."
R. The Lord has remembered his mercy.
"He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty."
R. The Lord has remembered his mercy.
"He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever."
R. The Lord has remembered his mercy.
AlleluiaMT 8:17
Christ took away our infirmities
and bore our diseases.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMT 8:5-17
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.
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.
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