YEAR C: HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE 1ST WEEK OF ADVENT (2)

YEAR C: HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE 1ST WEEK OF ADVENT

HOMILY THEME: ONLY BELIEVE

BY: Fr. Benny Tuazon

HOMILY:

(Mt. 8:5-11) Monday of the First Week of Advent

In today’s Gospel, Jesus lauded the faith, of all people, the centurion. The centurion begged favour from the Lord Jesus for his ailing servant. For him, the words alone of the Lord are enough, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.” Because of such great display of faith,Jesus gave him the best compliment and praise, “ Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such a faith.”

We have entered Advent. It ushers us into days of grace and reflection. The need to be spiritually prepared is an imperative. The struggle to transcend the very tempting material preparation is difficult but necessary and achievable if we are to get the best in the coming Christmas Season.

As a first offering, Jesus reminds us to believe in His Word. He is the Lord. We might not understand and find it difficult to accept His will, but He is the Lord. He knew best. If a pagan, like the centurion, was able to express faith according to the liking of the Lord, how much more can we? Every mass, before communion, we utter the centurion’s words. They were not meant to only express the faith of another. They were meant to be owned by us so we can also express our own faith in the Lord.