Monday, December 3, 2012

Read It:

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."

Reflect on It:
In today's gospel, we see the very words that we pray at mass: "Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my soul shall be healed". We say this right before we receive the Eucharist. Recently updated in our the mass changes, we see how the Lord of the Universe is actually interested in entering under our roof. The centurion in the story knew that he wasn't worthy to have Sweet Jesus enter his home and was subject to Jesus' authority the way that his own servants were subject to him. Jesus was impressed by his faith. As we pray this prayer before we receive, I try to take an inventory of my heart and soul. I don't know that I'll ever be truly worth to have Sweet Jesus enter under my roof, into my body. But, I think it gives us a good challenge. Each one of us becomes a tabernacle, a walking living, breathing tabernacle in that moment and that's a challenge for each one of us. Are we truly ready for him to enter under our roof.

Pray about It: "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed. Jesus, I believe, help my unbelief". Amen.

Live It! Challenge: Today, attend mass and pray through it. Pray that you can become a tabernacle worthy for the Lord to enter into.