JUST SAY IT

“But just say the word...” – Luke 7:7

My father had a stroke many years ago. He was confined at the ICU and given medicines in vials to help control the bleeding in his brain. Each vial cost over a thousand pesos.

I didn’t know how long he would be in the ICU or how long he would be given this costly medicine. I was afraid that we would run out of money on top of my fear that he would not be able to recover.

My friends pledged to help me and my family with the expenses and assured me that my family and I were not facing that crisis on our own. It helped that I had friends who were willing to comfort me and to carry the burden with me. But what helped me the most in facing my fears then was God’s Word that He will heal my father.

I went to Mass daily while my father was in the hospital. I prayed fervently for his healing. I knew deep in my heart that Jesus only needed to say the word and my father would be healed.

Thanks be to Jesus, he has survived and recovered, not just from that stroke, but from the succeeding ones that happened! Teresa Gumap-as Dumadag (teresa@fulllifecube.com)

Reflect: Do you have the faith to take God’s Word to heart like the centurion did, or will Jesus also say that He has not found faith when He looks at your life?

Lord Jesus, help my unbelief.

Sts. Cornelius, pope, and Cyprian, bishop, martyrs, pray for us.

Paul prays that the earthly authorities may let the Christian community live in peace. May we desire the same thing today. However, we must temper this desire for peace with the responsibility to proclaim the Gospel. We also need to be faithful in sharing the reason for having inner peace which is faith in Jesus Christ.

1 Timothy 2:1-8

1 Beloved: First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone, 2 for kings and for all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity. 3 This is good and pleasing to God our savior, 4 who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God. There is also one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as ransom for all. This was the testimony at the proper time. 7 For this I was appointed preacher and Apostle (I am speaking the truth, I am not lying), teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. 8 It is my wish, then, that in every place the men should pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger or argument.

PSALM

Psalm 28:2, 7, 8-9

R: Blessed be the Lord, for he has heard my prayer.

2 Hear the sound of my pleading, when I cry to you, lifting up my hands toward your holy shrine. (R) 7 The Lord is my strength and my shield. In him my heart trusts, and I find help; then my heart exults, and with my song I give him thanks. (R) 8 The Lord is the strength of his people, the saving refuge of his anointed. 9 Save your people, and bless your inheritance; feed them, and carry them forever! (R)

GOSPEL

The centurion is only interested in the healing of his servant. He does not demand or even ask Jesus to come to his house to perform the healing. It is enough for him that his servant is healed. This is love. Even though it may have been a social coup de grace to have Jesus in his house, the centurion does not exploit the situation. Let us focus on the things that really matter.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.

Luke 7:1-10

1 When Jesus had finished all his words to the people, he entered Capernaum. 2 A centurion there had a slave who was ill and about to  die, and he was valuable to him. 3 When he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and save the  life of his slave. 4 They approached Jesus and strongly urged him to come, saying, “He deserves to have you do this for him, 5 for he loves our nation and he built the synagogue for us.” 6 And Jesus went with them, but when he was only a short distance from the house, the centurion sent friends to tell him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof. 7 Therefore, I did not consider myself worthy to come to you; but say the word and let my servant be healed. 8 For I too am a person 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.” 9 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning, said to the crowd following him, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” 10 When the messengers returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

think: “Life is so much brighter when we focus on what matters.” (Picturequotes. com)

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Read the Bible in one year - Psalm 111-115

SIN IS REAL

Do you believe that there is sin? The Apostle’s Creed says, “I believe in the forgiveness of sins.” But we actually do not need to go to the Apostle’s Creed to know if sin exists. From experience, we know that sin is real.

In the Gospel today, we see that the gap between a master and a servant is far too wide. In the time of Jesus, a centurion has one hundred soldiers under his command. Typically, he is a disciplined, rich high-ranking official with authority and control over his men.

This centurion is a well-respected man, yet his social class standing did not intoxicate him. Why would he bother to care for his servant when they were treated like disposable property during his time? Though raised with utmost privilege and dignity, what made the centurion a cut above the rest was not his generosity. Rather, he possessed humility by being in touch with his iniquity.

Today, in our political circus, many hate sinners instead of hating their sins. When we do this, we do not follow Jesus’ example in reaching out to sinners regardless of their sins. St. Paul, in his letter to the Romans says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

Sin corrupts. It destroys the little grace that is left. It weakens decisions. It numbs the memory. It stains the soul. Our challenge is how to avoid sin. Even the sins of our families and our loved ones affect us. It has a multiplicative effect on the children of our children and to the next generations. The extreme scenario is when you undermine that an action is not a sin.

The centurion is a good man not only because of how he treated his servants and how he built a synagogue. He was a good man because he was in touch with his own sinfulness. Like what the centurion said, we too say, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” Why don’t you get in touch with your own sinfulness too? Fr. Haluendo Amit, OCD

------- REFLECTION QUESTION -------

Pick out one habitual sin that you commit. How do you think it affects your children, their children, and the future generations?

I shudder at the thought of the impact of my sins on Your people, Lord. Help me to avoid it. Amen.

Today, I pray for: ____________________________