Matthew 8: 5-11
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."
Dawg's thought:
Today's prayer intention is for a teenager I heard about, who is fourteen years old, who is getting pressure from her mother to get an abortion.
Seeing that it's Advent, I thought it would be appropriate to tie the readings in with the Litany of the Infant Jesus. Here is the first part of the litany:
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Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Jesus, hear us. Jesus, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, Have mercy on us.
--
Advent, a time of preparation, should be a time when we prepare ourselves for the second coming of Our Lord, Jesus Christ. Today's reading points to a man whom Jesus points out to have greater faith than anyone He had encountered in Israel. This centurion looked to Christ for mercy, and that is the first thing that we do in the Litany to the Infant Jesus. We beg Christ for mercy, and we must look at our own lives and see where mercy is needed.
We are Christians by name. In today's reading, I wonder if Christ may say to us that there were many who have more faith than we do. Just because we are Christians, it doesn't mean that we don't need to seek God for His mercy. On the contrary, because we are Christians, we need to rely more and more on His mercy and His Grace. Take care and God Bless.
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