St. Cyril of Alexandria, bishop & doctor 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Lamentations 2:2, 10-14, 18-19*

Without pity Yahweh has shattered in Jacob every dwelling.

He has torn down in his anger the ramparts of Judah’s daughter. He has thrown her rulers and her king to the ground, dishonored.

 The elders of the daughter of Zion sit in silence upon the ground, their heads sprinkled with dust, their bodies wrapped in sackcloth, while Jerusalem’s young women bow their heads to the ground.

 With weeping my eyes are spent; my soul is in torment because of the downfall of the daughter of my people, because children and infants faint in the open spaces of the town.  To their mothers they say, “Where is the bread and wine?”

as they faint like wounded men in the streets and public squares, as their lives ebb away in their mothers’ arms.  To what can I compare you, O daughter of Jerusalem?

Who can save or comfort you, O virgin daughter of Zion? Deep as the sea is your affliction, and who can possibly heal you?

 Your prophets’ visions were worthless and false. Had they warned of your sins,  your fate might have been averted. But what they gave you instead were false, misleading signs.(……)

 

Ps 74:1b-2, 3-5, 6-7, 20-21

Lord forget not the souls of your poor ones.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊

Matthew 8:5-17

 When Jesus entered Caper­naum, an army captain approached him to ask his help, “Sir, my servant lies sick at home. He is paralyzed and suffers terribly.” Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”

The captain answered, “I am not worthy to have you under my roof. Just give an order and my boy will be healed. For I myself, a junior officer, give orders to my soldiers. And if I say to one: ‘Go,’ he goes, and if I say to another: ‘Come,’ he comes, and to my servant: ‘Do this,’ he does it.”

When Jesus heard this he was astonished and said to those who were following him, “I tell you, I have not found such faith in Israel. I say to you, many will come from east and west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob at the feast in the kingdom of heaven; but the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown out into the darkness; there they will wail and grind their teeth.”

Then Jesus said to the captain, “Go home now. As you believed, so let it be.” And at that moment his servant was healed.

 Jesus went to Peter’s house and found Peter’s mother-in-law in bed with fever. He took her by the hand and the fever left her; she got up and began to wait on him.

Towards evening they brought to Jesus many possessed by evil spirits, and with a word he drove out the spirits. He also healed all who were sick. In doing this he fulfilled what was said by the prophet Isaiah: He bore our infirmities and took on himself our diseases.

 

Gospel Reflection：

The encounter between Jesus and the centurion who asked him to heal his servant who was ill is perhaps one of the most beautiful encounters in scripture between Jesus and someone imploring him for aid.

So beautiful, in fact, that we utter it each time we are about to receive Jesus’ body and blood at Mass. It shows the absolute confidence and trust in the loving mercy of Jesus, by someone who didn’t even share his faith and his religion.

It shows not only the depth of God’s love, but its all-expansive and all-embracing character. But it also shows the power of genuine faith.