Saturday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
God As Visitor, Great Faith
Liturgical Cycle: A | Lectionary Cycle: II
Introduction
Year II. “Cry aloud to the Lord! Lift your hands to him.” The message is one of hope: when punishment comes for sin, we should not blame God or abandon hope, but turn to God.
Gospel. At a mere word of Jesus, the health of the centurion’s servant is restored in response to the marvellous faith of the pagan centurion. He is a model of faith to all of us. His faith makes him worthy to take his place at the table of the kingdom.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
You come and visit us
Often, when we are not aware of your coming.
Make us aware of your presence,
that we may eagerly receive you
and be enriched by your visit.
Make us highly appreciate your hospitality
When you set for us the table
of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
First Reading
Lamentations 2:2, 10-14, 18-19
Without pity, the Lord has shattered in Jacob every dwelling. He has torn down in his anger the ramparts of Judah’s daughter. He has thrown her rulers and her king to the ground, dishonored.
The elders of the daughter of Zion sit in silence upon the ground,their heads sprinkled with dust, their bodies wrapped in sackcloth,while Jerusalem’s young women bow their heads to the ground.
With weeping, my eyes are spent; my soul is in torment because of the downfall of the daughter of my people,because children and infants faint in the open spaces of the town.
To their mothers they say: “Where are the bread and wine?”as they faint like wounded men in the streets and public squares,as their lives ebb away in their mothers’ arms.
To what can I compare you, O daughter of Jerusalem?Who can save or comfort you, O virgin daughter of Zion?Deep as the sea is your affliction, and who can possibly heal you?
Your prophets’ visions were worthless and false.Had they warned of your sins, your fate might have been averted.But what they gave you, instead, were false, misleading signs.
Cry out to the Lord, O wall of the daughter of Zion! Oh, let your tears flow day and night, like a river. Give yourself no relief; grant your eyes no respite.
Get up, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the watches! Pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to him, for the lives of your children, who faint with hunger at the corner of every street.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 74:1b-2, 3-5, 6-7, 20-21
R. (19b) Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.
Why, O God, have you cast us off forever?
Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?
Remember your flock which you built up of old,
the tribe you redeemed as your inheritance,
Mount Zion, where you took up your abode.
R. Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.
Turn your steps toward the utter ruins;
toward all the damage the enemy has done in the sanctuary.
Your foes roar triumphantly in your shrine;
they have set up their tokens of victory.
They are like men coming up with axes to a clump of trees.
R. Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.
With chisel and hammer they hack at all the paneling of the sanctuary.
They set your sanctuary on fire;
the place where your name abides they have razed and profaned.
R. Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.
Look to your covenant,
for the hiding places in the land and the plains are full of violence.
May the humble not retire in confusion;
may the afflicted and the poor praise your name.
R. Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Christ took away our infirmities
and bore our diseases.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Heals a Centurion’s Servant
When Jesus arrived in Capernaum, an army captain came to him seeking his help:
Sir, my servant is sick at home. He is paralyzed and suffering terribly.
Jesus told 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, 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 amazed and said to those following him:
“I tell you; I have not found such faith in Israel.
I tell you; many will come from the east and the west and will 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 utter darkness, where 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.
Heals and Exorcises Around the House
Jesus went to Peter’s house and found his mother-in-law in bed with a fever.
He touched her hand, and the fever left her; she got up and waited on him.
Later in the evening, they brought many people possessed by evil spirits to Jesus, and with a word, he cast out the spirits. He also healed all who were sick.
In this way, what the prophet Isaiah said was fulfilled:
He bore our infirmities
and took on himself our diseases.
Prayers of the Faithful
– That all the peoples of the earth may hear where the Lord can be found, come to know his name and pray to him, we pray:
– That we may care for the sick and bring them healing and strength by our friendship and encouraging words, we pray:
– That we may welcome foreigners and strangers in our Christian communities and invite them to form community with us, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
God of all people,
We bring bread and wine before you
to celebrate our gratitude to you
As we are gathered around Jesus, your Son.
For in him you have accepted us.
From his hospitable table
may men and women from all peoples and cultures
eat his bread of life
and drink his wine of joy,
that all may know your name
and praise your healing love.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Father in heaven,
We thank you that your Son
has spoken his healing word to us
even though we are not worthy.
May he find great faith in us.
We also thank you
that the promise of Jesus has been fulfilled:
Many have come from the east and the west
to eat from the same table with your people,
as they have joined us in the eucharist.
Accept our thanks
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Blessing
May the Lord speak to us also the words he spoke to the centurion when we sincerely pray to him: “Let it be done for you according to your faith,” and may God bless you, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTIONS
Matthew 8:5-17
Faith
Faith does not necessarily refer to our spiritual lives; it has a very secular meaning. Without faith, life becomes impossible. It is our faith that the food we eat is not poisonous, that the drivers who operate our buses and trains every day are trustworthy, and that our doctors are trustworthy. Of course, they can let us down, but we maintain faith in them.
But faith in Jesus is different. This faith is the response of the human heart to God’s infinite love and mercy. It is a supernatural gift from God. One of the most moving and powerful examples of faith in the New Testament is that of the Roman centurion. His act of faith is remembered every time we celebrate the Eucharist. “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; but only say a word…”
While reflecting on the passage, Pope Francis said, “The Lord marvelled at the faith of the centurion. The centurion made a journey to meet the Lord; he made it in faith. He met the Lord and knew the joy of being encountered by him. When we allow ourselves to be encountered by Jesus, he enters into us and renews us from within.”
The Holy Spirit was at work in this gentile soldier, moving him to profound faith. It is important to understand and appreciate that the Spirit is always at work in people’s lives – whoever they are, whatever they have done.
Matthew also speaks of Jesus entering Peter’s House and healing his Mother-in-law. He mentions it here for a catechesis. Yesterday we reflected on Jesus touching the leper. Today, we see him touching the sick woman. Recall the Pope’s words: Do not be afraid to get your hands dirty. Touch the lives of people around you. The Greek word chosen by the evangelist indicates resurrection, rising from the dead from a condition of “no life.” The sick woman represents the whole of humanity to whom Jesus approaches to introduce a new life.
Once healed, she begins to serve Jesus and the disciples. Here is the sign that characterises one who is put back on his feet by Christ: service to brothers and sisters. Until that happens, healing has not occurred or is still incomplete.
The Gospel ends with Jesus driving out demons and healing many sick people who were brought to the house of Peter. It is important to understand that the House of Peter refers to the Church. It is in the Church where we have healing and new life.