Today's Thoughts...

Today’s Thoughts: I have often said over the last five or six years that I struggle with the revised Roman Missal. One of my many struggles with the Missal was the phrase that we hear in today’s Gospel, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof….” For the longest time, I found this phrase a struggle each time I said it just before receiving communion. I kept wanting to say, “into my heart,” rather than “under my roof.”
 
The centurion, the one who expresses these words in our Gospel, he is a man of power and is in command of others.  We have this insight from his own words to Jesus, “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.”  And yet, he recognizes that his own power is nothing compared to that of Jesus.  How often do we find ourselves wanting to control a situation or tell God how to do something?  It sometimes takes us a while before we step back and realize that we are not in control.  Once we remember that we are not in control can often be quite liberating.  Placing our trust and faith in God over and over again is a part of any spiritual journey. It is the letting go and letting God.
 
What is powerful about our Gospel today is the absolute faith with which the centurion approaches Jesus on behalf of his servant.  He does not doubt that Jesus’ words alone can heal his servant, even without a physical encounter with Jesus.  Each time we receive the Eucharist, we, unworthy as we are, are deemed worthy for a physical encounter with Christ.  What an awesome and wonderful thought!  And yet often the reality of Christ within us, under our roofs, in our hearts is very challenging to grasp and a reality that we don’t always approach with the faith and trust of the centurion. 
 
Like the centurion, we have the opportunity to be transformed with each encounter with Christ, whether it is through prayer or meditation, through interactions with others in our daily lives, or through receiving Christ in the Eucharist.
 
As we journey through this day let us pray that we can approach Jesus with the same humility and faith that the centurion does. Let us invite Jesus into our hearts and our homes, under our roofs, and allow Him to transform us as we journey in faith.
 
Have a great Saturday everyone!