Homily for Monday of the 1st Week of Adent

When we get sick, our joints ache, our heads throb, and our stomachs feel unsettled – but we understand that it's usually just waiting for the cold or flu to pass. We know that, in time, we will feel better.

However, there are times when waiting becomes uncertain and filled with worry. We don't know how our suffering will end, and we're fearful of what our symptoms may mean. We wait for lab results, medications to take effect, surgeries to be completed, and cures to be discovered.

And sometimes, we find ourselves waiting… for God.

Advent is the season of waiting for healing, transformation, and the arrival of God in the person of Jesus. In today's Gospel, the centurion exemplifies the essence of Advent waiting. He has cared for his servant and now awaits a cure. His faith enables him to wait with hope. This Gentile's faith allows him to trust that God will act through Jesus. With a beautiful combination of dignity and humility, he asks Jesus simply to speak a word of healing.

This Advent season invites us to hope that our waiting, our longing for healing, peace, and salvation will be fulfilled.