Twelfth Saturday of Ordinary Time

“For I too am a man subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, ‘Go.’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

The centurion recognizes Jesus’ authority over all of God’s children and in this series of examples he illustrates for all of us what it means to have dominion over all creation. We, like the centurion, should trust that when we ask something of God that He can use His authority to help us. Perhaps it might not be in such a dramatic way as the healing of the servant, but God listens to our prayers and answers us in His own way and at the time of His own choosing. Jesus, the Holy Spirit, or God the Father have authority over our lives, we should respect that power as the centurion does. We should recognize how unworthy we are of God's help, while at the same time being bold enough to ask Him to aid us in spite of our failure to love Him and His children as we ought to do.

Do we recognize God’s authority in our lives? Do we give thanks for all the great and small things God does for us? Are we like little children, willing to ask our Heavenly Father for His graces even though we haven’t been the best of heirs to His Kingdom?

O Lord, let us be subject to your authority.

Amen.