Mt 8.5-17 – Saturday of the XII Week of Ordinary Time
In Capernaum, in today’s Gospel, Jesus performs several miracles. But more than the miracles themselves, what is striking is the different ways in which they occur. It is as if the Gospel wanted to tell us that God does not always act in the same way, but reaches each one in different ways. The first episode is the healing of the centurion’s servant.
It is a distant healing, without particular gestures, without physical contact, without visible signs. Everything is based on the word of Jesus and on the trust of that man. For this reason the Lord praises their faith. Having faith, in fact, does not mean continually obtaining extraordinary tests or signs. It means trust in the presence and action of God even when we see nothing and when everything seems unchanged. Immediately afterwards, the Gospel recounts the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law. Here the opposite happens: Jesus approaches, takes her by the hand, touches her. It is the sign of a concrete and personal closeness.
There are moments in life when God acts through a presence that is perceivedthrough a person, a word, an unexpected consolation. It is the same mercy of Christ that manifests itself in different ways. Finally, an immense crowd lines up and goes towards Him to receive healing and liberation. It is the image of all humanity bringing its wounds, its fears and its hopes to Christ.
Ultimately, we are not much different from that crowd. Every time we line up to receive communion we make the same gesture as those people who flocked to Jesus. We don’t simply go to perform a rite, but to meet the living Lord. And as then, even today Christ continues to heal, liberate and transform. Maybe not always in the way we expect, but certainly in the way we really need.
Saturday 27 June 2026 – (Saturday of the XII Week of Ordinary Time – Even Year)
