Breakfast With the Word Monday First Week of Advent Year B
Matthew 8:5-11
Sometimes one of the things that lead us far in life is not only the way we pray but the way we relate to God and Others. The way we relate to God and also the people around us are very important. This is a very important lesson we have to learn from the centurion today.
Sometimes what endears us so much to God is also the way we relate to Him and the way we relate to others. A good example is Abraham.
Abraham has strong faith in God and it was credited to Him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6, Galatians 3:6, Romans 4:3).
Yet despite His faith in God, God’s promise to Him to bear a son came at his old age came when Abraham showed love and hospitality to the strangers (Genesis 18:1-15).
Therefore, the way He related and cared for the strangers became an avenue for God’s Promise to him to bear a son was fulfilled.
We need to be careful about how we treat people who are under us and above us. Those who are under us need care, love and concern. While those above us need our respect and humility.
Many people today have lost great opportunities in life because of pride. Many of us would have been in certain positions if not for the way they behave.
Sometimes what has helped many in life is the way they humbled themselves. Sometimes what has been pulling people to grow in spirituality and otherwise, is the way they humbled themselves before God and allowed Him to take control of every situation.
The way we relate with God and others can save us from many mistakes and problems. It can be a great source of blessing and open doors.
Many family cases that we have today are because of the way we are relating to each other.
Many couples today who are living in crisis would not have been so, if not that they could not correct the way they relate with themselves.
Sometimes, when problems happen we blame one or two persons or we blame certain situations for our predicaments but sometimes when we critically look at it, we still observe that we are the cause of our problems.
Also today many people have lost faith in God. Some only come to church to show people that they truly belong but behind the scene, they have another thing they believe in. When predicaments come, they begin to blame God.
The way we relate to God and others is very important to our spiritual growth, eternity, and success in life.
It is the summary of the love of God and neighbour. In today’s gospel, the centurion teaches us the way to relate to God and others. He shows us the way to relate with our fellow human beings.
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The Day is Coming: First Sunday of Advent Year C
Jesus And The Centurion.
In the gospel today, immediately Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him and begged Him to heal His servant.
He said ‘Sir,’ ‘my servant is lying at home paralysed, and in great pain.’” Then Jesus answered Him ‘I will come myself and cure him. But the centurion tells Jesus that He is not worthy to have Him under His roof; What He needs is just the word.
He says “just give the word and my servant will be cured”. For I am under authority myself and have soldiers under me; and I say to one man: Go, and he goes; to another: Come here, and he comes; to my servant: Do this, and he does it.’
When Jesus heard this he was astonished and said to those following him, ‘I tell you solemnly, nowhere in Israel have I found faith like this.
The Attitude of the Centurion.
In today’s encounter with Jesus, we can see in the life of centurion how we should relate with people and with God. Let us explore some of them:
1. Show Love and Care to those Under You.
Sometimes when we see ourselves in top positions of authority we think that we are now the Creator of heaven and earth. Also when we have people who are under us, we begin to mistreat them and treat them as if they aren’t human beings.
When the centurion came to Jesus today, He did not beg for His son, He did not beg for His own blessing and healing. He was not seeking for His own favours and blessings, rather He travels under the sun to seek for the wellbeing of His servant, an ordinary servant. What a Love!
This man teaches us to remember that the people under us should be treated with care.
2. Always Show respect to Those Above You.
When the Centurion approaches Jesus today, He shows Jesus great respect. First, by taking the pains to meet Jesus. He is an officer, He would have given an order to let people inform Jesus to come.
Secondly, When he meets Jesus, the bible says that he was begging. He called Jesus “sir” which is a formal way to show respect to people.
When we are dealing with people above us, let us learn to be respectful. Do not show the other person that you are powerful, you can talk much, (anaghi ata nti gi ata) or you are the greatest. Sometimes the way we respect people can save us a lot.
3. Humility Pays.
To understand this, we have to know more about centurions. A Centurion is an army officer. They belong to the Roman empire.
The reason they are called centurions is that they command 100 men (Centuria = 100 in Latin). Remember that in the time of Jesus, the Jews were under the Romans, so this man is one of the officers who are in charge of the Roman army.
He can give commands, as he says in the gospel of today. He can assign responsibilities and give assignments to soldiers to obey. But today He shows great humility in the presence of the Lord.
When He came in the presence of Jesus, He reminded Jesus of His position but that despite this, He is not worthy to receive Jesus into his home. What a humble man!!
Many people would have used the opportunity of inviting Jesus to show off. But he remained humble.
This man teaches us that despite our positions in life, humility is indispensable. He also teaches us that when we come in the Presence of the Lord, we have to humble ourselves.
God loves the humble. God gives His grace to those who are humble before Him (Prov. 3:34 ). He gives grace to the humble (James 4:6-10). For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”(Luke 4:11) Humility brings honour (Proverbs 29:23).
4. God loves and cherishes our Faith.
When Jesus tells the centurion that He would come by Himself, the centurion showed great faith in the words of Jesus.
He says to Jesus “sir just give the word and my servant will be cured” How is He sure that when Jesus speaks great things can happen?
In this man, we see someone who believes strongly in the power of His word. Jesus was very happy today because of this.
Therefore, the centurion teaches us that God wants us to see us exercise our faith amid uncertain circumstances.
When you face problems, show more faith than worry. Secondly, this encounter today reveals how God loves and cherishes our faith.
Therefore, the way we relate to God must be accompanied by faith. Once we are dealing with God, show your faith always. Not showing faith means that we don’t even trust God in the first place.
Therefore, as we prepare to welcome Jesus through this advent, faith and humility are very important.
May God increase our Faith and give us the grace to live in humility, love and respect. May He never forsake you. Amen
Amen
May God’s love always direct us to the way of humility and faith through Christ our Lord, Amen
Merciful Jesus thank You for showing us how to be humble. Let us not think high of ourselves and miss the good things prepared for us . let’s live by example and appreciate pple we work with. I pray in Jesus name amen
Amen
Lord,increase my faith in you,Amen.
Amen
This made me realize how bad I have been handling situations.
I pray that God gives me the grace of treating people with love and also for strong faith in him in these days of trials.
Amen.
I also pray for couples to relate well with each other for peace and love to dwell in their midst .
Amen. Thank you Padre
Amen,thank you so much Padre.
Oh Lord help me to stand firm in faith in all my trials in life.
God please increase our faith in you through Christ our Lord. Amen
Dear friends, please if you know where I can get the following sacraments please! please !please, help me to get them. 1) metal sacraments of Salvation, 2) of the seal of the Internal Father . Please help me. l from a town known 🇰🇪 as Kisii Kenya.
Oh Lord give us the grace to completely TRUST in you and be HUMBLE no matter our positions in LIFE through christ our Lord Amen
May God increase our faith in him, Amen
Thank you Lord for teaching us and directing us in the path we should follow. We pray for your Grace to sustain us as we serve you through our actions towards mankind.
Amen. Thanks father
I receive the grace to live in humility and to shun every form of pride in Jesus name. Amen
May you Lord give me the grace to show strong faith in His words and the virtue of humility to enable me to relate better with those around me through Christ our Lord, Amen!!!🙏🙏
Thank you for sharing these powerful words of God, and I pray that the Good Lord will keep enriching and broadening your coast of wisdom and knowledge, that He alone will reward you mightily for your great deeds of tenderness. 👌🤗🙌
Amen. Thanks immensely, Padre, for this beautiful reflection. I pray that we’ll
always imitate the centurion, in his heart of humility, love and respect. And may everyone who came across us in life, encounter Jesus through us, Amen🙏
Amen
Amen
Thank you so much Padre for this beautiful reflection. I pray for the grace to remain faithful and humble in all circumstance. Amen
Amen
Thank you Jesus for the gift of ur word today, n Lord increase our faith n love for You n May humility be increased also as u you bless us with all good things of life through Christ our Lord. Amen
Amen and Amen.
I also pray for His mercy on me in any way I have not been humble and that I have missed the opportunity He has given me, that He may give me anyother opportunity again in His love.
Amen
Today’s reflection is a call to exercise our faith in God’s words just as the centurion did. In exercising our faith, we need to humble ourselves before God. Humility before God shows that we recognize His greatness above all things and our utmost reliance on Him. This is also evident in the life of Abraham whom we know as the father of faith. He showed his faith in God through humility and respect for His commands, even to the extent of accepting to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice to God.
We can only exercise our faith in God through humility and total trust in Him.
The reflection also calls us to extend that life of humility in our association with our fellow humans. In humility, we are called to love, care and respect all people regardless of our positions in life.
Thank u jesus .Amen to all the prayers
Amen. God, please give me the spirit of humility and the grace to remain faithful to you no matter the circumstances surrounding me.
Amen and Amen, thank you fr and God bless u with more grace in Jesus name amen.
No matter who you are, no matter your position always remain humble. If you find yourself in a position of leadership treat everyone with respect, above all we should always trust God in all situation .
God increase my faith and make me humble in my dealings with you and people. Amen
Amennnnnnn. I God to keep increasing my Faith in Him.
Amen. Lord help me to embibe humility always. Amen. Thank you Father.
Amen….. May God increase my Faith and trust in Him … Amen
In all things, Humility is key, I have seen it work in all ramifications of life, been humble isn’t stupidity but an act that shows you see life In all its simplicity..Let God help us to have the spirit of humility both now and forever. AMEN
Amen…I pray for the grace of patience, humility, grace to love and treat others with respect and grace to have more Faith in God…Amen
Amen….. May God increase my Faith and trust in Him … May I always humble myself to serve humanity Amen
Amen.
Thank you Fr.
Amen, thanks Fr.
Amen. God may I never lose faith in you even in my ugly and hard situations. Increase my faith in you and that of my siblings IJN Amen
Amen and Amen
Teach me Lord to be humble, respectful and loving for your sake, Amen.
May GOD continually bless you always Fr
Amen. Thank you Padre 🙏🙏🙏🙏
Am speechless.
God please help me
I felt touched that I never wanted the article to finish. God please aid us
Amen may we have faith like that of the centurion
Amen, I pray for the spirit of humility in all that I do .
Amen thanks Padre
Dear Lord help me to show love and care to those beneath me, respect and loyalty to those above me and humility and reverence to God. Finally help me exercise my faith even in difficult situations.Amen.
Amen Padre. I pray to God for humility and the increase of my faith. Thank u
Thank you Jesus, please dear Lord teach me to be humble and treat everyone with respect and regard in Jesus name amen.
Amen Fr.
Lord, may you give us all it takes to remain faithful in Y
Inculcating the natural embrace of horizontal and vertical relationship with God and humanity as we see God in eyes of our fellow human beings; His image’ and likeness’
Truly humility, love and respect are virtues we Christians should possess
Amen, Lord please increase my faith in you
Amen
Thank you Fr.
This reflection is deep and very simply explained. Lord have mercy on me (us) for the many moments I (we) didn’t live up to your standards.
O Lord! May You increase my faith; give me the grace to practise Humility and to always show Love to mankind. May You never forsake me, Lord. St Michael the Archangel! Pray for me and my family, relations, friends, the clergy, religious, the church of Christ and our country, Nigeria. Visit Fr Sanctus Mario at the point of his needs. Amen!!!
Amen.
Thanks so much Padre
Amen. God bless you Fr
Amen
God increase my faith and give me the grace to live in humility, love and respect
Amen
Amen.
I Receive my Healing through the word of God in Jesus name. Amen
Amen 🙏
Lord direct me that I may serve in humility and love. Amen
Merciful GOD 🙏🙏 please say a word and I will be heal from HEPATITIS AND LIVER SICKNESS forever.
AMEN 🙏🙏🙏🙏
Please be Merciful to me oh LORD 🙏🙏🙏
I receive the grace to live in love, humility and faith. amen
Amen
Amen.
God help me to build my faith.
Amen
Amen,thank you father 🙏🙏🙏
Amen
God, even when my circumstances are challenging—I know You are good. When everything seems to be going wrong—I trust that You are working everything for good. I have faith in Your plans and Your love for me. Thank You for being the One I can count on. In Jesus’ Name, Amen!
Thanks you Jesus for your words.
Amen, remain blessed Fr. Good morning
Amen.
Lord, Pls Increase my Faith in U
Lord give me the grace to be humble and kind to ppl around me. Amen
Amen and Amen.
Amen 🙌
Thank you Father
Amen, thanks Padre and God bless you.
Amen
Thanks for this inspiring breakfast with the word
God bless you padre
Amen 🙏
Thanks fa.may God help us to always humble ourself.
AMEN
Amen
Amen 🙏
Amen
Dearest Jesus am so much touched by the character of the Centurion, what a humble and a man of great faith. his love for the servant really tripped me, I ask you dear Lord Jesus to please give me such great faith, humility and love for others 🙏 🙏 🙏
AMEN
Amen
Amen and amen 🙏 Remain richly blessed, fr
Amen and amen 🙏 Remain richly blessed, fr.
Amen
Amen
Amen 🙏🙏🙏
Thanks Padre and GOD’S help.
Amen
Amen
Amen and Amen.
Amen, thank you Father
AMEN
Amen 🙏
Amen 🙏. Please Lord increase my faith in you🙏.
Amen
Amen ooh
Amen
Amen 👏
Amennnoooo! Thank you Jesus for your word of advice to me.
Amen and amen
Amen. God please, help me to have stronger faith in you. May I not despair in difficult situations. Even when my world seems to be crumbling. My hope and trust is always on you.
Amen
Amen thanks be to God
Amen
Amen
Amen God please grant me the grace of humility.
Lord I am not worthy that you should come me, but say your word of life, healing and comfort and my spirit, body and soul shall be healed. Amen 🙏🙏🙏
Amen
OH GOD increase my FAITH in YOU 🙏🔥
Amen Padre and God’s Divine wisdom and strength.
Amen and Amen
Amen. Remain blessed Padre.
Amen Amen Amen 🙏🙏🙏
Amen