Tuesday, August 03, 2004

1:18 am

The Catholic Calendar for Wednesday, August 4, 2004
Wednesday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Saint John Vianney, priest

Scripture from Wednesday's Liturgy of the Word:
Jeremiah 31:1-7
Jeremiah 31:10-13
Matthew 15:21-28

A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:

"Woman you have great faith! Your wish will come to pass." (Matthew 15:28)

Today's first reading shows that God's faithfulness to His people never wavers. He had allowed them to be scattered in exile because of their lack of faithfulness; but at the proper time He brought them back to their own country to replant their land and enjoy God's fruits. He had chosen them for a specific purpose and concentrated all His attention to their fulfilling it, making His truth and His love known to the world.

The Gospel then should not surprise us. Christ made the Jews His first consideration and so hesitated to expand His ministry beyond them to the Canaanite woman who asked Him to heal her child. He was sent specifically to gather together the lost sheep of Israel and bring them to a clearer understanding of what God required of them whom He had chosen to make Him, the one true God, known to the world.

What finally moved Christ to heal the foreigner's child was what He saw into this woman's heart. She didn't look upon Jesus as a person who performed magic worked by pagan gods; instead she saw the God of Israel at work in Christ and put her faith in Him. Her persistence, her firm belief and her humble and sincere response to Jesus won her heart's desire.

O God, our Father,
You have blessed us with Christ in numerous ways,
but most deeply touching
is Your compassion toward all who suffer.
May we too express this to others.
Amen

- Marie Bocko, OCDS
(mlbocko at earthink dot net)
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