Memorial of Saints Cornelius, Pope, and Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs
Lectionary: 443
Reading 1
1 Corinthians 11:17-26, 33
Brothers and sisters:
In giving this instruction, I do not praise the fact
that your meetings are doing more harm than good.
First of all, I hear that when you meet as a Church
there are divisions among you,
and to a degree I believe it;
there have to be factions among you
in order that also those who are approved among you
may become known.
When you meet in one place, then,
it is not to eat the Lord's supper,
for in eating, each one goes ahead with his own supper,
and one goes hungry while another gets drunk.
Do you not have houses in which you can eat and drink?
Or do you show contempt for the Church of God
and make those who have nothing feel ashamed?
What can I say to you? Shall I praise you?
In this matter I do not praise you.
For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you,
that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over,
took bread and, after he had given thanks,
broke it and said, "This is my Body that is for you.
Do this in remembrance of me."
In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying,
"This cup is the new covenant in my Blood.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup,
you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.
Therefore, my brothers and sisters,
when you come together to eat, wait for one another.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 40:7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 17
R. (1 Cor 11:26b) Proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes again.
Sacrifice or oblation you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Burnt offerings or sin offerings you sought not;
then said I, "Behold I come."
R. Proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes again.
"In the written scroll it is prescribed for me,
To do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!"
R. Proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes again.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
R. Proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes again.
May all who seek you
exult and be glad in you
And may those who love your salvation
say ever, "The LORD be glorified."
R. Proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes again.
Alleluia
John 3:16
R. 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
Luke 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.
Reflection 1
Catholic Daily Reflections
The Humility of Intercession
“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.” Luke 7:6–7
What’s interesting is that these humble words, spoken by a Roman centurion, were not actually spoken by the centurion to Jesus. This is because the centurion did not believe he was even worthy of going to Jesus himself. Therefore, he sent some of his friends to speak these words to Jesus on his behalf. In a real way, the friends of this centurion acted as intercessors before Jesus. Jesus’ response was to express amazement at the centurion’s faith. Jesus said to the crowd who was with Him, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” And at that point, the servant was healed by Jesus from a distance.
Most of the time, if we have an important request to make of another, we do so in person. We go to the person and speak face-to-face. And though we certainly can go to our Lord in prayer, face-to-face, person to Person, there is something very humble about bringing our needs to our Lord through the intercession of another. Specifically, there is something very humble about asking for the intercession of the saints.
Seeking the intercession of the saints before our Lord is not done because we are afraid of our Lord or because He would be offended by us going directly to Him. It is ideally done as an act of the utmost humility. By entrusting our prayer to those who are in Heaven, gazing upon the face of God, we do entrust our prayer to God. But relying upon the intercession of the saints is also a way of acknowledging that we are not worthy, by our own merits, to stand before the Lord and bring Him our request. This humility can be difficult to understand at times, but it’s important to try.
What is it that you need to pray for in your life right now? As you call that to mind, pick a saint to act as your friend and intercessor before God. Turn to that saint in humility and say a prayer to that saint, admitting that you are not worthy of going to our Lord on your own. Then entrust your petition to that saint and ask him or her to present that prayer to our Lord on your behalf. Praying to our Lord, through the intercession of a saint, is a way of also saying that you know Jesus’ response to you is pure mercy on His part. And the good news is that Jesus deeply desires to shower His mercy when we humble ourselves before Him, especially by coming to Him through the mediation of the saints.
Reflect, today, upon the humility of this well-respected Roman centurion. Try to understand the power of his humble approach by which he sent his friends to Jesus on his behalf. As you do, pick a saint in Heaven and ask them to go to our Lord on your behalf and request that our Lord grant you the same humility and faith as this centurion. Doing so will lead our Lord to be amazed at your faith and humility also.
Reflection 2
One Bread, One Body
painful unity
“There may even have to be factions among you for the tried and true to stand out clearly.” —1 Corinthians 11:19
Jesus prays at this moment that we may be one as He and the Father are One (Jn 17:21). However, this unity must come about through conversion and not by compromising basic truths. Jesus is not praying for the lowest-common-denominator unity of a watered-down Gospel. Rather, He prays for a Trinitarian unity which comes from deep repentance and radical transformation.
To help us grow into this kind of unity, Jesus often brings division (Lk 12:51). Most of the time this cannot be avoided. For example, if a pastor seriously wants to renew his parish, he usually must resign himself to parishioners leaving, greater discord in the parish, and persecution. If parents want to see their children united under Jesus’ lordship, they will probably experience greater conflict and alienation from some of their children for a time. The way to unity in church, marriage, family, etc., is the way of the cross (see Lk 14:27) — painful division and persecution endured through unconditional love. On Calvary, Jesus paid the price for unity; now He prays for us to make our contribution (see Col 1:24). Will you pay the painful price?
Prayer: Father, may I want unity more than I want my own way and my personal comfort.
Promise: “Just give the order and my servant will be cured.” —Lk 7:7
Praise: St. Cyprian was condemned to death for his faith in Jesus. At his sentencing, it was decreed: “It is decided that Thascius Cyprian should die by the sword” Cyprian responded with “Thanks be to God!”
Reflection 3
The Servants of the Word
Say the Word - Be Healed
Do you approach the Lord Jesus with confident trust and expectant faith? A Roman centurion boldly sought Jesus with a daring request. What made him confident that Jesus would receive his request and act favourably towards him? Like a true soldier, he knew the power of command. And he saw in Jesus both the power and the mercy of God to heal and restore life.
In the Roman world the position of a centurion was very important. He was an officer in charge of a hundred soldiers. In a certain sense, he was the backbone of the Roman army, the cement which held the army together. Polybius, an ancient write, describes what a centurion should be: "They must not be so much venturesome seekers after danger as men who can command, steady in action, and reliable. They ought not to be over-anxious to rush into the fight, but when hard pressed, they must be ready to hold their ground, and die at their posts."
Expectant faith and humility draws us close to the Lord Jesus
The centurion who approached Jesus was not only courageous, but faith-filled as well. He risked the ridicule of his Roman companions by seeking help from a Jewish preacher from Galilee, as well as mockery from the Jews who despised the Roman occupation of their land. Nonetheless, this centurion approached Jesus with confidence and humility. Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) notes that the centurion regarded himself as unworthy to receive the Lord into his house: "Humility was the door through which the Lord entered to take full possession of one whom he already possessed."
This centurion was an extraordinary man because he loved his slave who had become seriously ill and he was ready to do everything he could to save his life. The centurion was also an extraordinary man of faith. He believed that Jesus had the power to heal his beloved slave. Jesus commends him for his faith and immediately grants him his request.
The Lord is merciful and gracious to all who seek him
How do you approach the Lord Jesus - with doubt, fear, and disbelief? Or with trust and confident expectation that he will give you whatever you need to follow and serve him? Surrender your pride and doubts to him and seek him earnestly with humble trust and expectant faith.
Prayers
Saints of God, please offer to Jesus my humble request that I grow more in humility and faith. My precious Lord, I do bring this and all my prayers to You. As I do, I acknowledge that I am not worthy of Your Divine Mercy. But through the mediation of the saints in Heaven, if it be Your will that You bestow Your mercy upon me, then I humbly make this request of You through them. Mother Mary, I especially entrust all my prayers to Your holy intercession. Jesus, I trust in You.
Lord Jesus you came to set us free from the tyranny of sinful pride, fear, and rebellion. Take my heart captive to your merciful love and truth and set me free to love and serve you always with joy and trust in the power of your saving word. May your love grow in me that I may always seek to love and serve others generously for their sake just as you have generously laid down your life for my sake.
Daily Reflections on Divine Mercy
Reflection 259: The Beauty of the Humble Soul
What is it that makes someone beautiful? More than anything else it is the virtue of humility. Humility is exceptionally attractive. Though some may not be that impressed with the humble soul at first, over time, humility will draw even the most arrogant and self-centered person to itself. It’s hard to ignore the deep attractiveness of a humble soul because God is intimately present in that person. In fact, it could almost be said that God would do anything that a humble soul asks. It’s as if humility imposes an obligation upon God to bestow extraordinary graces through their lowly heart. Humility is a complete self-emptying of oneself before God and others. The result is that the person “disappears” and all that is left is God. God shines through the humble more radiantly than the person filled with the greatest talents. Humble yourself before God. The lower you go, the more God shines through and the more His Mercy is bestowed (See Diary #1306).
Do you seek to be humble? Or do you tend to exert yourself and make yourself the center of attention? The irony is that, as the Scripture says, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted” (Lk. 14:11). So many of the great saints are perfect examples of this in that their focus was love of God and love of others, but in the end these great saints were often lifted high for others to see. Seek to be one of those great saints by humbling yourself this day. Ponder humility and convince yourself of its value. Through it the beauty and Mercy of God will shine forth.
Lord, I know I am full of pride at times and that pride keeps me from admitting this fact. Please humble me and help me to lower myself before Your infinite majesty. Give me the grace to seek you above all things and to give You all the glory and honor. Jesus, I trust in You.
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