“And Jesus hearing this, marvelled; and said to them that followed him: ‘Amen I say to you, I have not found so great faith in Israel. And I say to you that many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven: but the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into exterior darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ And Jesus said to the centurion: ‘Go, and as thou hast believed, so be it done to thee.’ And the servant was healed at the same hour.”
Consider, dearest Theophila, at what Jesus marvels: Not merits, not riches, not status, but faith in His merciful love. This is what it means to dine with Jesus; to simply sit with Him and enjoy His love: “If any man hear my voice, and open to me the door I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Apocalypse 3:20). What He feasts on are little acts of love for God and neighbor proceeding from your heart. This is what is signified by breasts throughout the Song of Songs: “Thy breasts shall be as the clusters of the vine” (Song 7:8). It is important to remember that God will not be outdone in generosity, letting you enjoy His love for you in turn: “Eat, O friends, and drink, and be inebriated, my dearly beloved” (Song 5:1). The faith of the centurion, however, was itself a gift to the centurion from God: “Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 16:17), therefore why does Jesus marvel? It is to show at what we are ourselves to find truly beautiful and worthy of praise: Not the physical beauty of others: “Parise not a man for his beauty, neither despise a man for his look” (Ecclesiasticus 11:2), their riches: “Charge the rich of this world not to be highminded, nor to trust in the uncertainty of riches, but in the living God” (1 Timothy 6:17), or their place in society: “If then your delight be in thrones, and scepters, O ye kings of the people, love wisdom, that you may reign for ever” (Wisdom 6:22), but in spiritual beauty, the riches of grace, and their place within the Church, for these are all expressions of love, the one true gold in life. It is of great benefit to be surrounded by those that have a burning love of God, that a true, deep friendship that is built upon the rock of Christ rather than aimed at transient things: “He that feareth God, shall likewise have good friendship: because according to him shall his friend be” (Ecclesiasticus 6:17). Had St. Peter warmed his hands at the fire of Christ’s love rather than the literal fire in the temple area: “And with them was Peter also, standing, and warming himself” (John 18:18), he would not have denied the King of Glory. There is no display of faith like this in the miracles in Israel-Judah, for many doubted, or desired Jesus to be near: “Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died” (John 11:21), when the love and power of this same love are present in all places at the same time: “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy face?” (Psalm 138:7); you are never far from God, for in you is the Heart of Christ, with the love of the Father always upon you, therefore you can drink from the love and life of the Trinity whenever and wherever you please: “For the earth shall be filled, that men may know the glory of the Lord, as waters covering the sea” (Habacuc 2:14). Jesus then declares that many from the east and the west, this can be taken both literally, as well as figuratively of those that have followed the Lord from childhood or that turned to him later in life, will enter into the eternal rest with the greatest figures of salvation history: “Let us hasten therefore to enter into that rest; lest any man fall into the same example of unbelief” (Hebrews 4:11). The lives of the saints, including those like Abraham or David, can be intimidating, but there are two wonderful things to be considered in their respect. First, they stand with you as friends, commending you to God, seeking always your good: “This is a lover of his brethren, and of the people of Israel: this is he that prayeth much for the people, and for all the holy city, Jeremias the prophet of God” (2 Machabees 15:14). Second, there most certainly is a little old woman that you see daily whose fiery, burning, yet simple love of God places her in company with the martyrs, doctors, and virgins of heaven: “Wisdom is justified by all her children” (Luke 7:35). This love is not unattainable, though the actions and missions of great saints may be so for you. Let love carry you into their company, not despairing of your lowliness: “I beseech thee, my lord, wherewith shall I deliver Israel? Behold my family is the meanest in Manasses, and I am the least in my father’s house” (Judges 6:15), but trusting in the merciful love of the Father: “God is able to make all grace abound in you; that ye always, having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8). Jesus then condemns those that had received the Law and the Prophets, not realizing that the God that reigned over them is Love, with Jesus being the perfect expression of this same love that was commanded to Israel-Judah: “’Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind.’ This is the greatest and the first commandment. And the second is like to this: ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.’ On these two commandments dependeth the whole law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40). Those that had received these revelations but did not understand are condemned to the darkness of heart and mind that is a life without love and understanding: “Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips glorify me, but their heart is far from me” (Isaias 29:13); “Go, and thou shalt say to this people: ‘Hearing, hear, and understand not: and see the vision, and know it not’” (Isaias 6:9). In this darkness is weeping, for the mind filled with falsehood is like an eye filled with smoke, which wrings tears, and gnashing of teeth, for the coldness of heart that has only served itself in its life rather than warming the hearts of others will be manifest. Finally, Jesus turns back to the centurion and bids him to go in peace, for what he had hoped for has been done. While this may not necessarily be the case with prayers for temporal aid, such as miraculous healings, it is the case with heavenly hopes: If you limit your hopes to time in purgatory, you will receive purgatory. If you hope for the natural end of the life of grace in this world, which is to be perfected in love: “Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48), your every action singing, “I love you:” “To thee, O God, I will sing a new canticle: on the psaltery” of my heart “and an instrument of ten strings,” which denotes a life that adheres to the commandments of God, “I will sing praises to thee” (Psalm 143:9), you will receive it. Be bold in your hope, for you have the eyes of God, filled with love, upon you, longing to pour upon you an abundance of gifts that show this same love: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with spiritual blessings in heavenly places, in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3).