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GOSPEL

November 28, 2022 (Monday) 1st Week of Advent Psalter: Week 1 / (Violet) Responsorial Psalm: Ps 122: 1-2, 3-4b, 4cd-5, 6-7, 8-9

Lets us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

1st Reading: Isaiah 4: 2-6

On that day the Shoot of Yahweh will be beautiful and glorious; and the fruit of the earth will be honor and splendor for the survivors of Israel.

Those who are left in Zion and remain in Jerusalem will be called holy, all who are recorded among the living in Jerusalem, when the Lord washes away the filth of the women of Zion and purges Jerusalem of the bloodstains in its midst with the blast of searing judgment, the blast of fire.

Then will Yahweh create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over its assemblies a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of fire by night.

For the glory of Yahweh will be a canopy and a pavilion for all, a shade from the scorching heat by day, a refuge from the storm and rain.

Gospel: Matthew 8: 5-11

When Jesus entered Capernaum, an army captain approached him, to ask his help, “Sir, my servant lies sick at home. He is paralyzed and suffers terribly.” Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”

The captain answered, “I am not worthy to have you under my roof. Just give an order and my boy will be healed. For I myself, a junior officer, give orders to my soldiers. And if I say to one, ‘Go!’ he goes; and if I say to another, ‘Come!’ he comes; and if I say to my servant, ‘Do this!’ he does it.”

When Jesus heard this, he was astonished; and said to those who were following him, “I tell you, I have not found such faith in Israel. I say to you, many will come from east and west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob at the feast in the kingdom of heaven.

Reflection:

Daring the Word

The words of the centurion—“Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed”—so astonished Christ that we have incorporated them into our celebration of the Eucharist. What do those words reveal? First of all, it acknowledges the overarching authority and power of Christ—the Word of the Father, the Word that created everything in the universe. If the Word can create, the Word can recreate and revive as well. Secondly, the words of the centurion acknowledge his own unworthiness, almost eliciting a comparison with the response of Isaiah (cf. Is 6:5) at the vision of the holiness of God. Finally, the words also dare Christ to speak the word and effect healing, in spite of the unworthiness of the petitioner. Only a soul with deep faith and trust in God’s goodness and love can utter such words to Christ. As we pray these words in the Rite of Communion, what meanings do we intend?

NEWS

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2022-11-28T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-11-28T08:00:00.0000000Z

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Philippine Daily Inquirer