“Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.”
matthew 8:10
Reflection
A centurion approaches Jesus and asks that his paralyzed servant be healed. Jesus replies that he will come to the centurion’s house to cure the servant, but the centurion tells Jesus that he is not worthy to have Jesus enter under his roof. Jesus is amazed at this and tells the people following him that nowhere in Israel has he found a person of such faith. He says that many will come from the east and west to participate in the heavenly banquet. At this, Jesus tells the centurion his servant is healed.
The centurion’s faith should inspire us all. It shows that Christ came to save all people. Jesus’ reaction should also inspire us – amazement. He declares that he hasn’t found such faith in Israel and that many people from all over the world will be at the heavenly banquet. Sometimes we get caught up in thinking that only good Catholics or Christians will make it to heaven. For the people we know who are staunch atheists, agnostics, or of a non-Christian religion, it can be difficult to preach the Gospel to them, much less try to convert them.
The Catholic faith holds all that is true and is the one Church Jesus founded. Yet we still must have room in our hearts to accept those who come from different faith backgrounds and find their way to Christ and his Church. The Roman centurion was most certainly a pagan worshipper before believing in Jesus – a most unlikely thing to happen. We should be equally amazed and joyous when someone comes to Christ. While we may not always be able to evangelize to those people, we can embrace them, walk with them, and pray for them as they discover the truth, goodness, and beauty of our Lord.
Saint of the Day
St. Irenaeus: died AD 202
“The truth is to be found nowhere else but in the Catholic Church, the sole depository of apostolic doctrine. Heresies are of recent formation, and cannot trace their origin up to the apostles.”
Against Heresies, Book III, Chapter 4, St. Irenaeus
The Healing Word 