+ONLY SAY THE WORD AND MY SOUL SHALL BE HEALED
At every Eucharist, we repeat the words of the centurion we just heard in our gospel. It is with faith that we too, ask Jesus to heal our souls, our hearts from all our ills. So much of this Advent season is about recognizing our need for a Savior.
When Jesus experienced the faith of this centurion, he was amazed and said to those around him, “in no one in Israel have I found such faith,” and that “many will come from east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven.” Jesus saw a very inclusive vision of the human family, of God’s desire to gather all peoples for the banquet that is being prepared.
In Jesus, we have the fulfillment of the vision of Isaiah, when the mountain of the Lord will be established as the highest mountain and “all nations shall stream toward it” and “many peoples will come” to be instructed in God’s ways. “One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war anymore.” May our own faith allow this beautiful vision to be realized.
Is 2:1-5; Mt 8:5-11