Gospel for June 27, 2015 (Saturday)

Mt 8:5-17

When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appeal 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 that you should enter under my roof, only say the word and my servant will 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 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 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.

The Word in other words

A centurion is a Roman military official with around 100 men under his command.  With this position, he receives a high compensation enabling him to afford a better life.  This life would mean having slaves at home who, like the soldiers under him, are always ready to obey his commands.

This centurion knows then the power of his words.  At work and at home, all his words instantly take effect and are obeyed by his people.  In his own realm, the centurion feels that he is powerful.

The fact that the centurion approaches Jesus to heal his servant manifests his belief that Jesus is also powerful in His own realm,  And if he can effect power with his words, why not also Jesus?  Thus, with faith, he says to Jesus:  "Only say the word and my servant will be healed."

We can draw two thoughts from the above statements.  First, a person of prayer and deep faith, the centurion is convinced that Jesus, if he wills it, has the power to heal his servant.  In our own little way, we pray privately.  But how deep is the faith that motivates or moves us to pray?

The second thought that has to do with the content of the prayer of the centurion.  He is praying for his servant.  Yes, we pray and we bring our petitions to God, but are they usually petitions for our own personal concerns and for our loved ones?  How often do we pray for the people who serve us: our maids, cooks, laundry people, gardeners, etc?  How often do we pray for the needs and concerns of people who do not belong to our family and loved ones?

          - Fr. Jerome S. Montesclaros, SVD (USC, Cebu City)

What Praying is for Me

Our little altar

Prayer.

I learned back when I was a child that to pray is to talk to God.  Growing up, I find myself always talking to God, - how my day went, friends I met, games I played.  Then I also learned from the way of life of the Focolare (Work of Mary) community where I belong that even a simple "For you Jesus", in everything we do is already a prayer.  Every Wednesday, I would go to the Adoration Chapel with my mother and spend an hour praying and meditating.  But that habit ceased when I get to move and to study in Cebu and my schedule totally changed. Instead,  I get to pray the Rosary with my Aunt,

In college, I learned that to PRAY means - Praise, Repent, Ask, and Yield. I also found a very simple and easy to understand article on how to pray.

Now that I am on the family way and most of the time just staying at home with lots of free time, I find myself praying for people and for their intentions.  At night, with my Aunt, we pray the Rosary.  How we both feel that our day has been complete spending less than 30 minutes to praise, thank, adore, and thank God for the many many graces and blessings and even trials that come our way.  The light of the candle focuses our attention to prayer and reminds us that praying gives us the Light.

Aside from going to the Adoration Chapel and praying the Rosary, I also have special prayers or what we call Novena. These are prayers done for 9 days straight to a particular saint, to Mary, or to the Persons of the Holy Trinity. However, I am not only for 9 days straight because I also felt that I badly need the help of the Holy Spirit these days. Slowly, I felt so much peace and grace that He promised to give which I wish to continue just the same.

I have always believed that even at times I get to forget, God knows what is in my heart.  Yet, I also felt more close to Him whenever I really focus and just talk to Him.