Monday, December 1, 2025
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First Week of Advent |
| Matthew 8:5–11 |
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Friends, today in our Gospel, Jesus praises the faith of a Roman centurion. How often the Bible compels us to meditate on the meaning of faith! We might say that the Scriptures rest upon faith and remain inspired at every turn by the spirit of faith. One of the most fundamental statements of Christian faith is this: Your life is not about you. This is not your project. Rather, you are part of God’s great design. To believe this in your bones and to act accordingly is to have faith. When we operate out of this transformed vision, amazing things can happen, for we have surrendered to a power already at work in us “who is able to accomplish far more than all we ask or imagine” (Eph 3:20). This is precisely what we see in the lives of the saints: Mother Teresa moving into the worst slum in the world in an attitude of trust; Francis of Assisi just abandoning everything and living for God; Rose Hawthorne deciding to take cancer sufferers into her own home; Anthony leaving everything behind and going into the desert; Maximilian Kolbe saying, “I’m a Catholic priest; take me in his place.” This is how faith transforms the Christian life. |