Daily Gospel Reflection
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September 12, 2022
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
“Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed.” We speak these words at every Mass before receiving Jesus in Holy Communion. In today’s gospel passage, we read their inspiration: a faith-filled centurion asking humbly for Jesus to cure his dying servant.
What is so special about the centurion’s words in this passage? Why does Jesus laud the centurion’s faith so strongly?
The centurion displays true humility before Jesus, our Lord and God. Unlike the elders of the Jews, he does not rattle off his accomplishments to show his worthiness to receive Jesus’ help. Instead, he recognizes that Jesus is God, and he is not. He understands that he can do nothing to deserve God’s grace, yet he asks for it and is ready to receive it with gratitude.
Many times in my life, I have been tempted to see my accomplishments—good grades, athletic achievements, even spiritual victories—as adding to my worth. In turn, this can be demoralizing when we fail to accomplish our goals or when we achieve our goals but still feel unsatisfied.
Our accomplishments are good when done for God’s glory, but they are so small and insignificant when compared to even a single ray of light from God’s infinite majesty and splendor. No matter what we achieve, we are not worthy to receive God’s many gifts. God bestows them upon us as gifts of love.
Let us, then, remember the centurion at our next Mass as we profess our unworthiness to receive Jesus in Holy Communion. Let us remember that Jesus is God, and we are not, and let us approach Christ with the utmost humility and faith.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, we seek to honor you by building up your Kingdom, but we know that only by your will can anything enduring come to pass. Give us the courage to invite you into our homes, our lives; though they are humble and cluttered, you desire to enter in and save us. Only say the word and your servants shall be healed.
Saint of the Day
Today marks the feast of the Holy Name of Mary, a Marian feast day that has experienced several reversals in popularity. The feast of the Holy Name of Mary was first celebrated in Spain in 1513 but removed from the calendar by both Pius V and Benedict XIV. It was finally reintroduced by Innocent XI in 1683 after the Holy Roman Empire’s victory in the Battle of Vienna on September 12, 1683, which gives the current feast day its calendar date.
So what does Mary’s name mean, and why is it worth honoring?
The Meaning of Mary
The name “Mary” is the anglicized version of the Hebrew name Miryam, often written in biblical Greek as Mariam. Miryam is the name of Moses’ sister who praises God’s deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt and their safe passage through the Red Sea (Exodus 15:20-21), a psalm similar to Mary’s powerful hymn to God’s saving power in her Magnificat (Lk 1:46-55). As Jesus is rendered in the Gospels as the new Moses (Mt 2:13-15, 7:29, JN 6: 48-51), so Mary is portrayed as the new Miryam, the helpmate of Israel’s savior and a leader of her people. Interpretations of her name by biblical scholars and theologians vary widely—some notable examples include Source of Light, Scent of the Sea, and Star of the Sea. Developed in the 16th century in the Italian town of Loreto, the Litany of Loreto catalogs many devotional titles Catholics have applied to Mary, celebrating both her unique role in Salvation History and the beauty of her love for God, from which so many graces flow to us.
Honoring her Name
Names have a sacred status in the Judeo-Christian tradition. The second of the Ten Commandments requires Israel to keep holy the name of the Lord God. A name is more than just a label; it is part of the person who bears it. Our reverence for the person is reflected in our reverence for his or her name. Our names contain our identities and represent our mission—who and what we are to the world. Mary’s name holds the meaning of her own mission: to lead the world to the light of the world. Mary’s name given in the scriptures reminds us of God’s works of love and deliverance in history and speaks powerfully of who God desires her to be for us.
Bernard of Clairvaux writes that Mary is a “clear and shining star, twinkling with excellencies and resplendent with example, needfully set to look down upon the surface of this great and wide sea.” In life, we are constantly “battered to and fro by the gales and storms of this life’s ocean.” In the midst of life’s hurricanes and stormy waves, Bernard enjoins us to “look to the star, call on Mary. ...If she lead thee, thou wilt never be weary. If she help thee thou wilt reach home at last.”
As we pray to and with the name of Mary, as we call to mind her name, may we remember that we are not on the journey of faith alone. And when the storms are particularly troublesome and the night is especially dark, may we look to the Mary, the star that perpetually shines and ceaselessly guides us to the source of her light, her son.
Mary, Star of the Sea and light who guides our way to Christ—pray for us!