Level of ceremony: normal

Liturgical color: Purple

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Entrance chant

Hear the word of the Lord, all you peoples, proclaim it to the ends of the earth: Behold, our Savior is coming; do not be afraid.

Collect

Lord, whom we adore, grant that we may always wait eagerly for Christ to come, so that when he comes and knocks, he may find us awake in prayer and joyfully praise him. He is God, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

First Reading: Is 4, 2-6

“The liberated will rejoice.”

From the book of the prophet Isaiah.

On that day the Lord’s offspring will be glorious and glorious, the land will be plentiful, and the redeemed Israel will rejoice. Those who are left in Zion and the survivors in Jerusalem will be called holy, all who are enrolled to live in Jerusalem all their days. When the Lord has washed away the sins of the daughters of Zion by a spirit of judgment and of burning, and has cleansed Jerusalem from the blood of its blood, then the Lord will come upon Mount Zion and upon all who call upon him, like a cloud by day and like a pillar of smoke and like a blazing fire by night. For above all the glory of the Lord will be a way of traveling and a tent from the heat by day, a refuge from storm and rain.

That is the word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm:Ps 121, 1-2. 3-4a. 4b-5. 6-7. 8-9

A: I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord.”

Chant: I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord.” Our feet are standing in your gates, O Jerusalem.

Chant: Jerusalem is built like a fortress, fortified throughout. There the tribes, the tribes of the Lord, march up.

Chant: According to the law of Israel, to praise the name of the Lord. Here the throne of judgment has been set, the throne of the house of David.

Chant: You are safe. May there be peace in your fortresses, and safety in your palaces.

For the sake of my brothers and friends I pray: Peace be with you! Because of the house of the Lord our God, I pray for you.

Alleluia:x. Tv 79, 4

Alleluia, alleluia! – Lord our God, look upon us, show us your face, and we will be saved. – Alleluia.

Gospel:Mt 8, 5-11

“Many will come from east and west into the kingdom of heaven.”

The Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew.

When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him and said, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed and in terrible pain.” Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion answered him, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, and I have soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found such great faith in Israel. “I tell you that many will come from east and west and will recline at the feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom will be thrown into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

That is the word of the Lord.

Prayer over the offerings

Lord, this is the bread and wine which we have chosen from among the many gifts which you have bestowed upon us. Accept it, we pray, and grant that this Eucharistic sacrifice which we now offer may be for us the pledge of eternal salvation. We pray…

Preface of Advent I

Communion song

Come, Lord, and visit us in peace, that with upright hearts we may rejoice before you.

Prayer after communion

Lord, by means of the Holy Eucharist you have taught us, pilgrims on earth, to love and to cling to the lasting realities of heaven. May the Sacrament we have just celebrated bring us abundant grace. We pray to you…

Reflection

LORD, I BELIEVE

To live is to need faith. Faith to believe and accept God; to obey and do His will; to trust in God in times of trouble; to entrust everything to God; to face challenges and even impossible situations.

The centurion had a sick child. When he heard that Jesus was near, he thought to himself, this is the time when He can heal his son. He just listened to his hope and he went to see Jesus, begging Him. As a centurion, he came to beg Jesus to come and heal his son (Mt 8, 5-11). He forgot his personality and position to say to Jesus: “ Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my son will be healed. For I am only a man under authority, but I also have soldiers under me; and I say to this one, Go, and he goes; and to that one, Come, and he comes; and to my servant, Do this, and he does it ” (Mt 8, 8).

Hearing what they said, Jesus said, “ Truly I tell you, I have not found such great faith in Israel ” (Matthew 8:10).

To fulfill God’s plan in our lives, we must certainly ask God for the grace of courage and the grace of faith.

Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter into my heart, but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed. Amen.

Father Anton Nguyen Van Do

TRUE FAITH

(Mt 8,5-11)

1. After finishing the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus entered the town of Capernaum, and a centurion asked Him to heal his servant who was seriously ill. Although he was a Gentile and had power and high position, he showed humility and trust in Jesus’ powerful words. He was also a kind person, knowing how to love and care for his humble servant.

2. The centurion was a foreigner, the Romans were imposing their domination on the Jews, but he was very sincere with the Jews, the people under their domination. He had a special relationship with them and he helped them build the synagogue in Capernaum with money. Admiring his kindness, the Jews introduced him and asked Jesus to help him.

Jesus was amazed that this foreigner, who did not know Him, had such strong faith that he asked Him to heal his servant from afar, and He did not find such faith among the Jews, who had listened to and witnessed the miracles He performed for them. Therefore He said: ” I have not found such great faith in Israel.”

3. We emphasize the faith of this centurion. His faith has two characteristics as follows:

– Faith is shown by doing : He came to ask Jesus to heal his servant. Because if you ask someone for something, you believe that person has it, and is willing to help you.

– A strong faith : He asked Jesus to heal him from a distance, without having to come to his house. That shows that he believed in Jesus himself more than in what He did; and that is true faith.

4. The centurion showed humility before God. In terms of prestige and status, this officer had the power to represent the Roman Empire to rule a Jewish region, he had soldiers and servants, and even in terms of politics, he had the power to arrest, expel or forbid Jesus from preaching.

However, he realized that Jesus was not simply a teacher like the scribes, but a prophet of God, so he felt unworthy before Him. He recognized that all positions and positions were under God’s authority, and he humbly said : “Lord, I am not worthy for you to come under my roof, but only say the word and my servant will be healed” (Mt 8:8).

5. In this case, we see that his faith is accompanied by charity because he does not care about himself but cares for his servant. Faith is given to everyone, but it is only given like a seed, and that seed only germinates and grows under the necessary conditions. The better the soil of the human heart, the more likely the seed of faith will germinate and grow. Love is the most fertile soil for the growth of faith in the human heart: a soul closed to human love is also a soul closed to faith.

When we do not live and believe in human love, how can we believe in God’s love? When we do not show human love, the faith we profess in God is just a deception to ourselves and others. Saint John warns: ” Whoever says he loves God and hates his brother is a liar” ( Good News Every Day).

6. God’s acceptance of the pagans’ faith shows that God’s love and salvation is universal and available to all, regardless of skin color, race or religion, as long as they trust in Him. The centurion’s confession becomes a model for our daily faith, especially before receiving communion, when we profess our faith in a humble but powerful manner: ” Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.”

7. Story : Believe it or not?

A rich merchant in a certain province had many notices printed and posted throughout the province.

The notice stated that anyone in the province who was in debt, should come to his office on that day… in the morning between 9 and 12 o’clock, and he would pay that debt.

Of course, that promise spread far and wide throughout the province. Some people believed it, but some thought it was some kind of trap.

The day came. The merchant had been sitting in his office since nine o’clock in the morning. It was almost ten o’clock and no one had come. At eleven o’clock the merchant saw a man walking back and forth in front of his house and looking up at the office door from time to time. Finally he pushed the door open, stuck his head in and asked:

– Is it true that you will pay off anyone’s debt?

– Yes. Are you in debt?

Yes, sir.

– So, do you have any bills or promissory notes to prove that?

The other man produced several papers, and the merchant immediately signed a check to pay off all the debts. Before twelve o’clock, two more men arrived and also received checks to pay off the debts.

Many people outside may not believe it… but there was no time for them to come and collect their debt checks.

Kindness converts more people than doctrine, knowledge and debate (FW Faber)

Father Giuse Dinh Lap Liem