DAILY- HOMILY

July 1, 2017 – SATURDAY, 12th Week in Ordinary Time 

St. Junipero Serra, Priest

Green

Gn 18: 1 - 15 / Mt 8: 5 - 17

Born in Mallorca, Spain, St. Junipero Serra (1713 -1784) joined the Franciscans and, as a missionary in the New World, established many churches and Christian communities in the US West Coast. He was canonized by Pope Francis in Washington DC, USA, on 23 September 2015.

From the GOSPEL READING:        Mt 8: 5- 13

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 I say to one, 'Go,' he goes, and if I say to another, 'Come,' he comes, and 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, but the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown out into the darkness; there they will wail and grind their teeth."

Then Jesus said to the captain, "Go home now. As you believed, so let it be." And at that moment his servant was healed.

REFLECTION

Today's readings delve on faith, or the lack of it. As Christians we have always been taught about miracles and the value of prayer, that God grants us our prayers, no matter how impossible it may seem.

As humans we have limited brains which function with logic, in time and space. So when we pray and ask for God's help, at the back of our minds we also have doubts.

Jesus assured us, "If you have faith even the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this tree, 'Be uprooted and plant yourself in the sea,' and it will obey you." (Lk 17: 6) We have neither heard nor seen this happen, which means no one has the kind of faith Jesus spoke of. We are always at the mid-ground between having faith and being humans with logic and reason: most of the time leaning towards logic and reason. We all have our problems: those with greater faith may seem to fare better, perhaps because they worry less? More faith equals less problems?

As the popular saying goes, "Heavy rain showers remind us of challenges in life. But never ask for lighter rain. Instead pray for a better umbrella."

There will always be problems but with greater faith it may be easier to overcome or live with problems.

FINALLY, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers and for those who need our prayers the most. 

Have a good day!

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