Who are you more like in this Gospel? Are you the Pharisee who outwardly lives a faithful life, or the repentant woman who has faith in her heart? Are you a mix of both?

This Gospel used to weird me out, to be honest. I always found it strange that the woman would use her tears and hair to clean Jesus' feet. I also found it odd that Jesus let her. But, when you really think about it, it's really not that odd at all. The sinful woman recognizes her sins and repents of them through her actions of cleaning and anointing Jesus' feet. She also recognizes who she needs to repent to: the Son of God, Jesus Christ. The culturally holy men, the Pharisees, do not recognize their own sins and they do not see that God incarnate is sharing a meal with them. This is a dramatic scene, and that is a good thing.

It can be uncomfortable to be like the woman in this passage. It sure is easier to be like the Pharisee. It's hard to accept that we are sinners and our sins are in need of forgiveness. It takes humility to approach Jesus and ask for His mercy. God knows that this can be difficult and does not ask that we come crying with oil and anoint His feet; He gives us a really easy way to receive mercy when you take a step back and look at it. When we go to a priest in the sacrament of Reconciliation, we are really going to Christ and confessing our sins to Him. It's more than talking to a man in black and easier on our pride than kissing Jesus' feet at a dinner party. However, our hearts should still be in the same place as the woman's. She has true regret for her sins and earnestly desires to be free from them. She wants to be forgiven, to start fresh with God in their relationship. That's what we need too, a loving and repentant heart, and when we do, Jesus wipes us clean of our sins, just like He does in the Gospel.

Back to the Pharisee. This man is open to Jesus but needed help to see how his sins also need to be forgiven. The Pharisee did not understand that God's mercy is endless, even to those who have committed the worst of sins. 

Do not hold yourself back. Seek God's mercy with an open and humble heart. You might be like the Pharisee and only externally live the faith, but learn from the woman that God's love and mercy is always available to a repentant heart.

Who are you more like in this story? Why?

If you were in this Gospel and Jesus standing before you, what would you say to Him? 

Where is your heart right now? Are you open to love and mercy?

"Have mercy on me."

"You take away the sins of the world."

​"I need You."

During the month of September, we ask that each day, for the Action step of our lectio divina, everyone prays a Divine Mercy Chaplet together for the healing of all victims of clerical abuse of any kind as well as for the healing and guidance of our Church.

For more information on why we are doing this or how to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet, click here. 

Use the following meditation to help you reflect more deeply on the Scripture (you may want to read the passage again).
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Have you ever gotten a really mean text or email from someone that completely ruined your day? Or maybe someone made a comment in passing that brought back up some of your deepest wounds? It's amazing how sometimes just a few harsh words can ruin an entire day. Somehow it always seems to be those words that hurt the most or those wounds that haven't quite healed yet that overshadow a lot of the happier moments in our days. At the end of the day though, all that remains is faith, hope, and love. 

Take a moment to think of a moment when you felt truly loved, whether you felt loved by God, by a family, by a friend, or by yourself. Maybe it has been awhile or takes you back to your childhood, but think of the power and the beauty in that moment. We speak of love often and hear today's first reading quoted often, but I think few of us truly understand the depth of these words. We can so quickly tear each other down by being pompous or jealous, rude or quick-tempered, inflated or selfish. Or we can choose to make this world a better place and help build the kingdom of God here on earth by choosing to love one another and build one another up.

Surround yourself with people who build you up in the ways they speak to you and act around you. These are the people that you will have the privilege of journeying with on the path to heaven, where you will experience the fullness of love itself.

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.
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When was the last time I truly felt loved?

Who are the people in my life that make me feel loved and build me up?

What am I doing to love those around me?

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.
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"I love you, Lord."

"Thank you for loving me."

"The greatest is love."

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?
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During the month of September, we ask that each day, for the Action step of our lectio divina, everyone prays a Divine Mercy Chaplet together for the healing of all victims of clerical abuse of any kind as well as for the healing and guidance of our Church.

For more information on why we are doing this or how to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet, click here.

Click the link below or open your Bible to the passage and read through the reading at least once, paying attention to what is happening in the text. 

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

​How do you most often respond when someone asks you, “How are you doing?” If I had to guess, I think most of us typically respond by saying, “I’m good” even if we aren’t actually feeling well at all. Why do we many times hesitate to share how we are actually feeling? I think for most of us it comes from a place of fear. We are scared to share our suffering because we fear we are burdening others. We are scared to be vulnerable because we fear that it will only lead us to more hurt and disappointment. We have all been there at least once before.

With God however, we do not have to be afraid. No matter how wonderfully or terribly we are feeling, there is always hope to be found. Things are never too far gone, and it’s never too late to pursue God’s plan for your life. The Lord sees your suffering. You don’t have to say anything; He already knows. And while I cannot promise He will bring someone you love back from the dead, I can promise that you can experience resurrection life.

It would have been easy for Jesus to simply walk past this woman and her son’s coffin and not think twice. Instead, He sees her in her suffering and does not hesitate to stop. When was the last time you saw someone suffering? How did you respond? Even if you have no idea what it is like to go through what they are going through, you can always empathize and mourn with them, knowing that one day even tears will be turned into rejoicing. I challenge you today to be authentic, be genuine, and share your heart with someone.

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.

How am I really doing right now? 

Where can I see God in my suffering?

How am I looking for hope in my life right now?

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.

"Help me suffer with you, Lord."

"Jesus, I trust in you."

"Help me to join in others suffering."

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?

The following image is here for you to save and use as a background or lock screen on your smartphone or device to help you carry today's Lectio Divina with you the rest of the day.

"Today's prayer was prepared by Maggie Overbeck, Director of Youth Ministry at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Huntley, IL. 

If you have anything you'd like our team to pray for, please go to the page of our website called ""Prayers"" and let us know how we can pray for you today. "

Jesus was amazed.

Read that passage from the scripture again, and then remind yourself who Jesus is. What on earth could possible have ‘amazed’ the one who was there since the beginning of the world?! And yet, the faith of this roman centurion amazed Jesus so much so that he said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”

This is one of many healings that occur throughout the Gospels where Jesus restores blindness, heals paralytics, cures lepers, and even raises people from the dead. And yet, this healing stands apart in a particular way because the words of the centurion are repeated every single day in the liturgy: “Lord ... I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof.” Up to this point, Jesus had been ministering to a primarily Jewish audience. The Jews were eager for a Messiah because they thought he would free them from the oppressive government of the Romans. To the Jews, the Romans were the enemies. In our Gospel today, Jesus not only heals the servant of a man, but he heals the servant of a man who represents the enemies of Israel. You can almost hear his followers say, “Jesus, you’re not supposed to help the Romans, you’re supposed to help us be free of them!” And yet, Jesus’ ministry and healing and kingdom are not just for the few insiders, but rather goes beyond our imagining to embrace everybody.

What amazes Jesus in this passage is the incredible trust of this man. Instead of having Jesus visit him, he knows that if Jesus only says the word from a distance his servant will be healed! What incredible boldness! Jesus doesn’t even need to touch the man to heal him; the centurion knows this and invites Jesus to heal the servant from afar.

There are times in my life where I’ve lacked this boldness and forgotten to trust Jesus to heal me. Maybe there wasn’t a physical distance between me and Jesus, but there are other ways I could be bold enough to ask Jesus to heal me ‘from afar’. Those pesky, routine sins that we can’t seem to get rid of - do we boldly and expect Jesus to heal us from them right away, or do you say “sometime later in life when I’m older, more put together, more disciplined; then Jesus will heal me.” When we pray for those of our friends and family who are far from God, do we pray boldly with great faith and expect that God can reach them and change their hearts immediately, or do we accept that they’re on a long journey and maybe, just maybe someday eventually God will reach them? Are we willing to be like to centurion and place our trust in Jesus even when we don’t yet see the evidence of his work in our lives? Are we willing to have the kind of bold trust and faith in which Jesus will be amazed?

Where do you need to be more bold in your faith? How can you be more like the centurion? 

​Do you trust Jesus to heal you from afar? 

Do you trust that Jesus is working in your life?

"Jesus, I want my faith to amaze you." 

"Lord I need you."

​"Help me to be bold."