I sat in my dark chapel this morning watching the eastern sky slowing coming to light, in reds and pink horizon. Beautiful. God enters our lives in ways not readily perceptible to the senses, but nonetheless, God is dawning in our lives like the first rays of sun. It takes time and patience to let this Divine Light surround us in a blanket of love.

In today’s gospel, jesus heals the servant of the Centurion, a man who is the “outsider” but who sees in jesus One who transforms and heals. This Centurion doesn’t want jesus to come into his home to heal the servant because, “I am not worthy that you should come under my roof.” For those who are Catholic, you will recognize these words of the Centurion as the prayer we say before receiving Holy Communion: “Oh Lord I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed. ” Yes, this prayer at Mass is the prayer of the Centurion.
Jesus commends this simple outsider as a man of great faith. For the Centurion, God entered his life slowly and quietly through the way that Jesus responded to people. A “new day” dawned for this Centurion as the Light surrounded his heart, freeing him to see God in new and surprising ways. The beautiful hues of God’s presence colored his life in hope and joy as Jesus most assuredly entered “under his roof ,” transforming him into someone deeply “worthy.”

God dawns in our lives like the early sun, slowly, often catching us off guard. God enters….
In patient waiting in line for our coffee;
Noticing the smile of a co-worker;
In reaching out to a lonely neighbor;
When we let go of annoyances;
By refusing to gossip;
In small doses of wordless prayer;
When we are grateful;

The list goes on for it is endless… the small ways God dawns in our lives. But it takes practice and patience and a touch of gentle discipline to slowly to rise out of the darkness of self centeredness and into the light of selfless love.
Buen camino. Padre