Devotion for today: bold enough to believe

Scripture for meditation: Matthew 8:5-10
When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion approached Him and appealed to Him saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully."  He said to him, "I will come and cure him."  The centurion said in reply, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed." 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."  When Jesus heard this, He was amazed and said to those following Him, "Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith."

Christ says: Matthew 18-20
Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move.  Nothing will be impossible for you." (NIV)

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (154) states:
Believing is possible only by grace and the interior helps of the Holy Spirit.  But it is no less true that believing is an authentically human act.  Trusting in God and cleaving to the truths He has revealed are contrary neither to human freedom nor to human reason.  Even in human relations it is not contrary to our dignity to believe what other persons tell us about themselves and their intentions or to trust their promises (for example, when a man and a woman marry) to share a communion of life with one another.  If this is so, still less is it contrary to our dignity to "yield by faith the full submission...intellect and will to God who reveals."* and to share in an interior communion with Him.
*Dei Filius 3: DS 3008

Prayer: Psalm 23:
The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want,
He leads me beside quiet waters.  He restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.   Amen

My thoughts:
If the centurion was one thing, he was humble.  Although a man of great power, he was willing to humble himself before a power he recognized as greater than his.  His humility, and belief in Jesus Christ's power to heal, saved his servant from a lifetime of distress.  If the Lord is truly our Shepherd, then we must follow Him in humility, no matter how powerful or important we are in the world. As the Catechism tells us, we are all capable of believing in our fellow man without losing our own dignity. Doesn't it make perfect sense, then, for us to be humble enough to believe in God, Who, unlike any human, has the words of everlasting life?  Bold enough to ask for God's help, yet humble enough to accept His response: that is the secret to a peaceful prayer life.

Your prayer to God:
Close your eyes, quiet your heart and mind, and picture yourself walking with Christ through a beautiful field of clover.  Recognize His ability and willingness to help you, and present your most urgent requests to Him.  Then believe with the faith the size of a mustard seed.

A Request:  Please send me your stories, prayers, poems, events from your life that will help us all follow a devotional time in our lives.  I will categorize them by themes and use them for the various topics this blog will feature.  All suggestions are also welcomed.    Send to:  sbertini@cox.net