Monday - September 18, 2017
The school of Christ is the school of charity.
On the last day, when the general examination takes place, there will be no question at all on the text of Aristotle, the aphorisms of Hippocrates, or the paragraphs of Justinian. Charity will be the whole syllabus.
~~St. Robert Bellermine
TODAY'S READINGS
September 18, 2017
Monday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 443
Reading 11 TM 2:1-8
Beloved:First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers,
petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone,
for kings and for all in authority,
that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life
in all devotion and dignity.
This is good and pleasing to God our savior,
who wills everyone to be saved
and to come to knowledge of the truth.
For there is one God.
There is also one mediator between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus,
who gave himself as ransom for all.
This was the testimony at the proper time.
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.
It is my wish, then, that in every place the men should pray,
lifting up holy hands, without anger or argument.
Responsorial PsalmPS 28:2, 7, 8-9
R. (6) Blessed be the Lord, for he has heard my prayer.Hear the sound of my pleading, when I cry to you,
lifting up my hands toward your holy shrine.
R. Blessed be the Lord, for he has heard my prayer.
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. Blessed be the Lord, for he has heard my prayer.
The LORD is the strength of his people,
the saving refuge of his anointed.
Save your people, and bless your inheritance;
feed them, and carry them forever!
R. Blessed be the Lord, for he has heard my prayer.
AlleluiaJN 3:16
R. Alleluia, alleluia.God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelLK 7:1-10
When Jesus had finished all his words to the people,he entered Capernaum.
A centurion there had a slave who was ill and about to die,
and he was valuable to him.
When he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to him,
asking him to come and save the life of his slave.
They approached Jesus and strongly urged him to come, saying,
"He deserves to have you do this for him,
for he loves our nation and he built the synagogue for us."
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.
Therefore, I did not consider myself worthy to come to you;
but say the word and let my servant be healed.
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."
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."
When the messengers returned to the house,
they found the slave in good health.
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THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS FROM A DISTANCE
What kind of awe do you have for Jesus? Do you know that he is so powerful that all he has to do is think a thought and make a decision, and it is accomplished? The centurion in today's Gospel reading knew this. It's the core belief of true faith. It's the faith we are expected to have when we pray at Mass, "Lord, I am not worthy … but only say the word…."
Take a moment to reflect in awe of how thoroughly God is involved in your life. Before you asked for his help, and even before you knew that you needed his help, he knew all about it. He knew what would happen and when it would happen and how to help you in the best possible way. He also knew how to use it to help you grow in holiness. Despite how difficult your trials get, our loving Father has authority that's far greater than your biggest problem.
If you believe this, you have faith like the centurion.
But what about the slave's faith? Did he (or she) believe in the authority of Jesus to provide a healing? Did the slave even ask for a healing? We don't know, but it doesn't matter. The centurion and his Jewish friends interceded for the slave. The authority that Jesus had -- and his caring concern -- was so powerful and so complete that he did not need to hear a request from the slave's own mouth. He responded to the people who cared about him. It was their love and their belief in his authority that opened the way for a miracle.
If you've been praying for someone whose faith in God is non-existent or barely alive, remember that Jesus can help even from a distance, because his authority is far greater than anyone's rebellion or resistance or disbelief. However, it might look like your prayers are doing no good, because you can only see what's obvious. Remember this: There is always much more happening than what we can see. God knows how to work with his or her free will to help the soul in the best possible way.
We cannot see the full picture. What we do know with certainty is that there is much we don't know. Are we going to base our faith on what we can grasp with our very limited brains -- or on the Jesus who always responds to our love for others? In his compassion, he redirects our prayers to whatever will most help in their salvation, because he wants to spend eternity with them infinitely more than we do.
As today's first reading points out, Jesus is the mediator between God and humankind. With a word from Jesus, God's will is done. The centurion spoke a profound truth when he said, "Just give the order and my servant will be healed." This is the basis of our prayer whenever we receive Jesus in the Eucharist: "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed." In this prayer, we acknowledge Christ's authority. With this faith, there is much that God can accomplish.
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God Bless You.....
The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”
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