Msgr. Roger J. Landry
National Director, The Pontifical Mission Societies
Daily Reflection for December 1, 2025
Here is the video of today’s reflection.
I’m Monsignor Roger Landry, national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies. It’s December 1st, Monday of the first week of Advent. I’m here on the campus of the Augustine Institute in St. Louis, looking at the statue of the inspiration for this institute, St. Augustine himself, who says at the bottom of the statue you’re seeing behind me, fist no ade, you have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts will be restless until they rest in you. On the second day of the Advent season, we remember that our hearts are made ultimately to be disquieted until they rest in the Lord. And the Lord comes to give us the peace to our hearts which are the real core of our entire being. Jesus comes in history in Bethlehem. He comes in mystery in prayer in the sacraments and he comes in majesty on the ends at the end of time. And so in each of these ways, we recognize our hearts have been created by the Lord to long for Jesus just like St. Augustine’s heart did and just like he taught the early church about. In today’s gospel, we see the beautiful scene of Jesus’ miracle healing the servant of the centurion who came to Capernaum and said that his servant was at the point of death and Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.” And that Roman pagan centurion didn’t consider himself worthy to be receiving Jesus under his home. He just said, “Just say the word at a distance and my servant will be healed.” And Jesus was amazed at the centurion’s faith that he was able to believe that Jesus could just say a word and that syllable said across space and time would have enough to save his servant’s life. And we know that that’s exactly what happened. Jesus wanted this type of faith to be our type of faith. And he said aloud, “Not even in all of Israel have I found faith like this.” He wants to find that type of faith. And at the very end of the passage, he says that people are going to be coming from the east and the west and the north and the south in order to be able to approach him that they are going to have the faith of that centurion from all the cardinal points. That’s the mission of the church. That’s why missionaries work so hard to crisscross the globe in order to be able to help people come to Jesus with that type of faith. The faith that produces miracles. Jesus said that those who have Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob for their father will look at these people coming from the east and the west and everywhere. And that what Jesus said for them might be a sign of a big surprise for us. It’s a huge expectation because that’s what we’re praying for, for all people to be able to come to Jesus. St. Augustine, as you know, was a bishop in Africa. Now, Africa is such a great mission field in which so many places are bursting at the seams with people with faith like the faith of that centurion. We’re all called to help that faith grow. As we prepare today to receive the Lord into our life, even though we’re unworthy, he wants to make us worthy. He wants to come visit us. That’s what he does in history, mystery, and majesty. That’s what happens in Advent.
Gospel
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.
I say to you, many will come from the east and the west,
and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven.”