Daily Liturgy
Monday September 13
TWENTY-FOURTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
ALIEN NO LONGER
Introduction
Paul urges Christians through Timothy to be mediators by our supplications, prayers and intercessions for all of humankind. The basis is that Christ is the one mediator between God and humanity and God wants all to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. How universal God’s plan and will to save!
Today we have the beautiful scene of the Roman centurion asking Jesus through emissaries to heal his slave. He loved the Jewish people and had faith in Jesus because of what he had heard about Jesus. Another sign of faith, something unusual in a world of slavery, seems to be that he begged for the healing of a slave. We hear him also say the words we use in the eucharistic celebration, that he is not worthy of Jesus coming to his house.
Opening Prayer
Lord God, Father of all,
you call people from every language, culture and nation
to worship you and to live in your love.
Let your Son Jesus Christ speak among us
your saving word that brings healing to all.
May many accept his invitation
to sit with us at his table.
Give us enough faith and love
that we, too, like you and your Son,
may turn strangers into friends.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Reading 1: 1 Tm 2:1-8
Beloved:
First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers,
petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone,
for kings and for all in authority,
that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life
in all devotion and dignity.
This is good and pleasing to God our savior,
who wills everyone to be saved
and to come to knowledge of the truth.
For there is one God.
There is also one mediator between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus,
who gave himself as ransom for all.
This was the testimony at the proper time.
For this I was appointed preacher and Apostle
(I am speaking the truth, I am not lying),
teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
It is my wish, then, that in every place the men should pray,
lifting up holy hands, without anger or argument.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 28:2, 7, 8-9
(6) Blessed be the Lord, for he has heard my prayer.
Hear the sound of my pleading, when I cry to you,
lifting up my hands toward your holy shrine.
R. Blessed be the Lord, for he has heard my prayer.
The LORD is my strength and my shield.
In him my heart trusts, and I find help;
then my heart exults, and with my song I give him thanks.
R. Blessed be the Lord, for he has heard my prayer.
The LORD is the strength of his people,
the saving refuge of his anointed.
Save your people, and bless your inheritance;
feed them, and carry them forever!
R. Blessed be the Lord, for he has heard my prayer.
Alleluia: Jn 3:16
Alleluia, alleluia.
God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: Lk 7:1-10
When Jesus had finished all his words to the people,
he entered Capernaum.
A centurion there had a slave who was ill and about to die,
and he was valuable to him.
When he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to him,
asking him to come and save the life of his slave.
They approached Jesus and strongly urged him to come, saying,
“He deserves to have you do this for him,
for he loves our nation and he built the synagogue for us.”
And Jesus went with them,
but when he was only a short distance from the house,
the centurion sent friends to tell him,
“Lord, do not trouble yourself,
for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof.
Therefore, I did not consider myself worthy to come to you;
but say the word and let my servant be healed.
For I too am a person subject to authority,
with soldiers subject to me.
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.”
When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him
and, turning, said to the crowd following him,
“I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”
When the messengers returned to the house,
they found the slave in good health.
Intercessions
– That those who believe in the Lord Jesus may express their faith in deeds of justice and love, of dedicated service and of endless compassion, we pray:
– That all peoples of the earth may hear where the Lord Jesus can be found, come to know his name and pray to him, we pray:
– That we may welcome strangers and foreigners in our Christian communities and make them feel at home with us, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
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 cultures
eat his bread of life and drink his wine of joy,
that all may know your name
and praise your merciful love.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Father in heaven,
we thank you that your Son has come to us,
even though we are not worthy.
May he find great faith in us
and in all his people.
Let his word fill our empty words
and his love inspire all we do,
that with our whole life
and in the harmony of our many languages
we may sing our honor and thanks to you, Father.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Blessing
For God there are no strangers, no foreigners, no aliens. He knows them all, accepts them all, loves them all, whether they know it or not, for they are all his children. May you accept them as God does, with the blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Commentary
There are a number of admirable qualities that appear in the life of die pagan centurion in today’s Gospel. He is concerned about his seriously ill servant; he has shown himself sensitive to the needs of the occupied Jews; he does not hesitate to make a request of Jesus; he is conscious of the ritual impurity Jesus would contact in entering his house. But above all there is his faith recognition of Jesus’ power over impending death.
The centurion lives out what the Letter to Timothy says explicitly.
There is but one God and one mediator between God and man: Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself as ransom for all.
Jesus commends the centurion in one of the Gospels’ strongest expressions of praise. Nowhere in Israel had he found such faith. We may well ask ourselves whether we show similar concern for needy people who play secondary roles in our lives. Our faith tells us that Christ is present to us in all circumstances. But how often do we consider our own unworthiness? God’s grace has been lavished upon us; it is all gift. But we sometimes act as if it is all due to us. The centurion knew what it meant to give orders and get an immediate response. But he was not about to ask the same of Jesus.
We certainly want to pray and pray unceasingly, at the same time realizing our own unworthiness.
How often do we say a prayer of thanks for petitions granted? Blessed be the Lord for he has heard my prayer.
Points to Ponder
Praying with confidence
Mindfulness of our unworthiness
Requesting in faith.