"Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof;
only say the word and my servant will be healed."

We hear this phrase every week, but do we really get it? Do we really understand what we are saying when we recite this at Mass?

The centurion has a faith and trust in Jesus that few of us have ever had. A true humble confidence. He knows that Jesus has power over everything and that just His command can change everything. He trusted that Jesus could save his servant dying at home, yet we don't trust that Jesus can help us through this break up, or this test, or whatever we are going through at the time. The humility and trust of this man is simply incredible. I don't know about you, but I know I am unworthy of Jesus in my heart right now. As much as I would love to say that my heart is ready for Jesus to enter fully, the truth is I am not. But the greater truth is, it doesn't matter. Jesus can heal anything if He wills it and we ask. 

So instead of trying to make your heart perfect, ask Him to come in and help you clean up. Recognize your sinfulness and need for Him, and trust that He can handle it. I know I can't, so it has to be Him. Let us hope, pray, and trust in Him today with humble confidence.

Do you trust God? What are some areas that are hardest for you to trust in Him?

How can you become more humble to recognize your need for God?

Do you go to God when things are messiest or do you try to make it all clean first? How can you begin to let Him in, even during your darkest hour?

"Jesus, I trust in You."

"Come Holy Spirit."

"I love you, Lord."

Be humble and trust in the Lord. Give Him that thing that scares you the most, and trust that He can handle it even better than you could.

"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Today we celebrate the two "founding fathers" of our Church, Peter and Paul, who in a unique and particular way carried on the torch lit by Christ 2,000 years ago - when carrying on the torch was no easy task, and in fact cost both of them their lives. Most churches in Europe have statues of Peter and Paul on either side of the Church or the entrance to the Church as a reminder to us of their commitment to Christ and sacrifice of their lives. 

But what makes them so special? They knew Jesus - that's it. What enabled Peter to give that profound declaration almost 2,000 years ago when Christ asked him that piercing question: "but who do YOU say that I am?" How was Peter ready with such a perfect answer? Because he knew Jesus. He was friends with Jesus. He had spent almost 3 years with him in daily contact. He didn't just take other people's word about who Jesus was - he wanted to find out himself - so he dove into personal friendship with Jesus.

We spend so much time hearing what OTHER people have to say about who Jesus is - we may listen to homilies or talks or podcasts or read blogs or carpe verbum posts, but how much time do we spend ourselves talking directly to him? One on one. It's pretty crazy that we have a god who gives us access to one on one time with Him 24/7. And we barely take advantage of this. Jesus doesn't want us to just take other people's word about who He is, He wants us to come straight to Him, straight to the source, and find out for ourselves. That means asking tough questions and being open to hearing tough answers. Don't get me wrong - sometimes it's helpful to talk with other people about Him or listen to others talk about Him because we can learn from their perspective and how they engage in relationship with Him - but never as a replacement for putting in the time ourselves to grow our own personal relationship with Him.

So spend some time today going straight to the source- talk to Him directly. Ask him some honest questions about who He is and who you are, and commit to the hard work of growing a relationship with Him so that you are ready to answer gene he asks you- "but who do YOU say that I am?"

Do I know a lot about Jesus or do I know Jesus?

Is most of my faith time just learning about Jesus, talking about Him with others, or reading about his teachings? 

Who do I say that Jesus is in my life?

"You are the Christ."

"You are the living God."

​"You are my friend."

Take some time to journal today answering the question "Who do you say that I [Jesus] am?" If you can't answer that question, contemplate what your prayer life could look like this week to begin to get to know Him, Jesus, the man, the Son of God, the brother who wants to be your friend, to guide and direct you in this life so you can be with Him in the next.

What are you rooted in? What are your foundations? Do you define yourself by the things you do or have? Or do you define yourself as a disciple of Jesus Christ?

Christ wants us to have Him as our foundation. He wants us to know His word, but even more than that, act on it. We are called to do more than read the Word of God, but live by it. Being a Christian is more than just believing in God, it changes your whole life. Christ wants your relationship with Him to be reflected in every act you do. 

At first glance, today's Gospel sounds like Jesus must be in a bad mood or something. Why would He reject people who followed Him? Well, the people Christ is talking about never really knew Him. They didn't really have a relationship with Christ and follow Him wholeheartedly. Jesus is telling us that we need to be fully committed to Him; He wants all of us. If we make the foundation of our lives Jesus Christ, we will be that stable house that doesn't wash away in the storm. If you really give yourself 100% to Jesus, you won't be overcome by life's challenges or hardships. We all face suffering in our lives in some way or another, but if we really listen to Christ and all that He has taught us, we have nothing to fear for He is with us always.

Don't be the fool who builds a house on sand. Let yourself be founded on the sturdy rock that can never and will never be washed away. Don't define yourself and base your life on the things in life that pass away like sand, but define yourself as a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Eternal Word and loving Savior. 

How do you define yourself? Are you building your life based on passing things, or the eternal God?

Are you living out the Gospel? Is there something that's holding you back from being fully committed to a life as a disciple of Jesus Christ?

How can you build a stronger foundation based on your relationship with Christ?

"I need You."

"I trust You."

"I will follow You."

Read more Scripture today. Learn more about what Christ preached and take it to heart. Really spend time in prayer listening to what God wants you to know through His word. After your time in prayer, do something to put into action what you learned about Christ. 

Use the following meditation to help you reflect more deeply on the Scripture (you may want to read the passage again).

Today’s first reading is actually a pretty good snapshot of the entire Old Testament. Throughout the Old Testament, God asks His people to follow His laws or commandments. He does this not out of anger but because He knows truly what is best for humanity. The people of the Old Testament regularly agree to follow His laws, but then they fail and break them. They ask for forgiveness, and they try to do better next time. God gives them another chance, only for the most to fail again and again. 

Why does this keep happening? Because we are weak and broken. We can’t save ourselves. We can try to follow God’s laws but sooner or later we fall to what the devil hasn’t tempted us with. We are no different than our Israelites ancestors who were born more than 2000 years ago. 

We can’t win the battle with sin, so Jesus came to win it for us. By His suffering, He endured the price of every sin ever committed by humanity. Every whip He felt, He took the punishment of my sin. Every drop of blood He lost, that was supposed to be my punishment, but He bore it all. And they were for you too. 

Now that we know this, we are called to repent like the Israelites in the first reading. We must stand before the Lord and declare that life will be different because Jesus died for us. If we truly believe that Jesus died to free us from our sins, than life should look different. 

How does your life need to change? Has it been a while since your last confession? Run to Him. Start to frequent the Sacraments more. Increase your daily prayer time. Volunteer more of your time and charity. And most of all, share the Gospel. Share what Jesus has done for you so that others might know Him too. 

These questions are to be used to talk to God; have a conversation with the Lord about these questions and what is going on in your heart as you pray today.

​Where do you seem to be failing over and over? How can you rely on God more in that?

How does your life need to change? Where would you like a second chance in your life?

​How will you give more of your life and time to God?

In this step, you listen. Stop talking, let God speak to your heart. You may repeat one of these short phrases to focus your mind on the Lord.

"I give you my heart, Lord."

"I want to change, Lord."

​"Give me strength, Lord."

In light of today's reading and your time spent in prayer with the Lord, what concrete action or actions will you take to let this encounter with the Lord bear fruit in you today?

Make a resolution today that will change your life for the better. Pray and ask God to help you grow and commit to this resolution.