These miracles serve as tangible signs that God's Kingdom has arrived

—a reign of divine compassion, power, and ultimate restoration.

Healings and exorcisms demonstrate that sickness

and evil have no lasting place in God's Kingdom.

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

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

Without pity,

 

The Lord 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 are 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 if I say 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 extreme 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.

Toward evening, they brought to Jesus many people possessed by evil spirits;

and with a word, he drove out the spirits. He also healed all who were sick.

In this way, what was said by the prophet Isaiah was fulfilled:

He bore our infirmities and took on himself our diseases.

 

Gospel Reflection ：

Genuine discipleship involves embracing a faith.

What are the signs that God's reign is among us?

Today's Gospel offers a glimpse into Jesus' life. He heals the centurion's servant,

Peter's mother-in-law, and many others while casting out demons.

These miracles illustrate the arrival of God's Kingdom-a reign where faith,

not status or blood relation, grants access to Christ's power.

 

The centurion, a Roman officer and an outsider to the Jewish faith demonstrates greater faith

than many in Israel, underscoring that God's Kingdom is for everyone who believes.

For Christ's followers, this represents both a gift and a challenge.

This gift of God's reign continues in our time. We are called to be part of God's kingdom and to trust in His power

while sharing His love with the poor and the marginalized. We must remember that genuine discipleship

involves embracing a faith that goes beyond mere words and is expressed through action,

bringing Christ's healing presence to our brothers and sisters.