Wednesday
of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary:
409
Reading 1
At
that time, says the LORD,
I will be the God of all the tribes of Israel,
and they shall be my people.
Thus says the LORD:
The people that escaped the sword
have found favor in the desert.
As Israel comes forward to be given his rest,
the LORD appears to him from afar:
With age-old love I have loved you;
so I have kept my mercy toward you.
Again I will restore you, and you shall be rebuilt,
O virgin Israel;
Carrying your festive tambourines,
you shall go forth dancing with the merrymakers.
Again you shall plant vineyards
on the mountains of Samaria;
those who plant them shall enjoy the fruits.
Yes, a day will come when the watchmen
will call out on Mount Ephraim:
“Rise up, let us go to Zion,
to the LORD, our God.”
For
thus says the LORD:
Shout with joy for Jacob,
exult at the head of the nations;
proclaim your praise and say:
The LORD has delivered his people,
the remnant of Israel.
Responsorial Psalm
R.
(see 10d) The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
Hear the word of the LORD, O nations,
proclaim it on distant isles, and say:
He who scattered Israel, now gathers them together,
he guards them as a shepherd his flock.
R. The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
The LORD shall ransom Jacob,
he shall redeem him from the hand of his conqueror.
Shouting, they shall mount the heights of Zion,
they shall come streaming to the LORD’s blessings.
R. The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
Then the virgins shall make merry and dance,
and young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning into joy.
I will console and gladden them after their sorrows.
R. The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
A great prophet has arisen in our midst
and God has visited his people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
At
that time Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out,
“Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David!
My daughter is tormented by a demon.”
But he did not say a word in answer to her.
His disciples came and asked him,
“Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.”
He said in reply,
“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
But the woman came and did him homage, saying, “Lord, help me.”
He said in reply,
“It is not right to take the food of the children
and throw it to the dogs.”
She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps
that fall from the table of their masters.”
Then Jesus said to her in reply,
“O woman, great is your faith!
Let it be done for you as you wish.”
And her daughter was healed from that hour.
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/080520.cfm
Meditation:
Great
Is Your Faith! Be It Done for You as You Desire
Do
you ever feel "put-off" or ignored by the Lord?
This passage (Matthew 15:21) describes the only occasion in which Jesus
ministered outside of Jewish territory. (Tyre and Sidon were fifty miles north
of Israel and still exist today in modern Lebanon.) A Gentile woman, a
foreigner who was not a member of the Jewish people, puts Jesus on the spot by
pleading for his help. At first Jesus seemed to pay no attention to her, and
this made his disciples feel embarrassed. Jesus does this to test the woman to
awaken faith in her.
Jesus first tests the woman's faith
What did Jesus mean by the expression "throwing bread to the dogs"?
The Jews often spoke of the Gentiles with arrogance and insolence as
"unclean dogs" since the Gentiles did not follow God's law and were
excluded from God's covenant and favor with the people of Israel. For the
Greeks the "dog" was a symbol of dishonor and was used to describe a
shameless and audacious woman. There is another reference to "dogs"
in Matthew's Gospel where Jesus says to his disciples, "Do not give to
dogs what is holy" (Matthew 7:6). Jesus tests this woman's faith
to see if she is earnest in receiving holy things from the
hand of a holy God. Jesus, no doubt, spoke with a smile rather than with an
insult because this woman immediately responds with wit and faith - "even
the dogs eat the crumbs".
Seek the Lord Jesus with expectant faith
Jesus praises a Gentile woman for her faith and for her love. She made the
misery of her child her own and she was willing to suffer rebuff in order to
obtain healing for her loved one. She also had indomitable persistence. Her
faith grew in contact with the person of Jesus. She began with a request and
she ended on her knees in worshipful prayer to the living God. No one who ever
sought Jesus with earnest faith - whether Jew or Gentile - was refused his
help. Do you seek the Lord Jesus with expectant faith?
Lord
Jesus, your love and mercy knows no bounds. May I trust you always and pursue
you with indomitable persistence as this woman did. Increase my faith in your
saving power and deliver me from all evil and harm.
Daily
Quote from the Early Church Fathers: The Mother of the Gentiles, by
Epiphanius the Latin (late 5th century)
"After
our Lord departed from the Jews, he came into the regions of Tyre and Sidon. He
left the Jews behind and came to the Gentiles. Those whom he had left behind
remained in ruin; those to whom he came obtained salvation in their alienation.
And a woman came out of that territory and cried, saying to him, 'Have pity on
me, O Lord, Son of David!' O great mystery! The Lord came out from the Jews,
and the woman came out from her Gentile territory. He left the Jews behind, and
the woman left behind idolatry and an impious lifestyle. What they had lost,
she found. The one whom they had denied in the law, she professed through her
faith. This woman is the mother of the Gentiles, and she knew Christ through
faith. Thus on behalf of her daughter (the Gentile people) she entreated the
Lord. The daughter had been led astray by idolatry and sin and was severely
possessed by a demon." (excerpt from INTERPRETATION OF THE GOSPELS
58)
https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2020&date=aug5
WEDNESDAY,
AUGUST 5, MATTHEW 15:21-28
Weekday
(Jeremiah 31:1-7; Psalm: Jeremiah 31)
KEY VERSE: "O Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish" (v. 28).
TO KNOW: Jesus' mission was primarily to the "lost sheep of the house of Israel" (v. 24), but he was open to hearing the truth from people outside of the Jewish faith. Following a clash with the religious leaders who refused to believe in him, Jesus met a Syrophoenician woman (the area around Tyre and Sidon) whose faith was in sharp contrast with that of his own people. The woman addressed Jesus as "Lord" and begged him to heal her tormented daughter. Jesus told her that it was not right to take food meant for the "children" (the people of Israel) and feed it to the "dogs" (a contemptuous term for Gentiles). The woman persisted, saying that she was willing to take the crumbs that fell from the master's table. Jesus was impressed by this woman's great faith, and he healed her daughter that very moment.
TO LOVE: Do I attempt to understand people of other faith traditions?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, help me to persist in prayer for my loved ones.
Optional
Memorial of the Dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary in Rome
The most important church in the city of Rome is dedicated to Our Lady, the
Basilica of Saint Mary Major. It was erected around the year 352, during the
reign of Pope Liberius (352-366). According to legend, a member of an
aristocratic family and his wife were childless. They prayed that the Blessed
Mother might intercede for them so that they would have an heir to bequeath
their wealth. They were favored with a dream in which Our Lady appeared to them
on the night of August 4-5. She requested that they build a church in her honor
on the Esquiline hill. The sign to accompany this dream was that the exact
location would be marked out in snow. The Basilica has been called Our Lady of
the Snows in commemoration of the miraculous snowfall. Pope Sixtus III
(432-440) rebuilt and embellished the basilica. From the seventh century
onward, it was referred to as Saint Mary the Great (Major).
http://www.togetherwithgodsword.com/commentaries-on-the-daily-gospel-of-the-mass.html
Wednesday 5 August 2020
Dedication
of St Mary Major
Jeremiah
31:1-7. The Lord will guard us, like a shepherd guarding his flock – Jeremiah
31:10-13. Matthew 15:21-28.
‘The
Lord will guard us, like a shepherd guarding his flock’
So
many people around the world are scattered now, on far off shores, feeling abandoned.
So many people in our suburbs are scattered now, through abuse and neglect. So
many families are scattered now, through family breakdown and disconnection.
But the Lord has promised us that He will gather us all and guard us as a
shepherd guards his flock. And not only that, we will live in abundance and all
will rejoice. Lord we long for this in our troubled world. May your kingdom
come!
In
Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus values our faith so much that he can’t seem to resist a
truly faith-filled request. He also seems to enjoy being challenged by the
Canaanite woman. I think He enjoyed it so much, that he paused, let the
Apostles bluster on, and then undertook a sparring of wit with her. Her final
reply won Him over. I pray for such faith, that when I encounter the demons in
my world, I fall at Jesus’ feet, and I never give up asking.
http://www.pray.com.au/gospel_reflection/wednesday-5-august-2020/
Dedication
of Saint Mary Major Basilica
Saint
of the Day for August 5
Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome | photo by Gary Ullah from UK
The
Story of the Dedication of Saint Mary Major Basilica
First
raised at the order of Pope Liberius in the mid-fourth century, the Liberian
basilica was rebuilt by Pope Sixtus III shortly after the Council of Ephesus
affirmed Mary’s title as Mother of God in 431. Rededicated at that time to the
Mother of God, St. Mary Major is the largest church in the world honoring God
through Mary. Standing atop one of Rome’s seven hills, the Esquiline, it has
survived many restorations without losing its character as an early Roman
basilica. Its interior retains three naves divided by colonnades in the style
of Constantine’s era. Fifth-century mosaics on its walls testify to its
antiquity.
St.
Mary Major is one of the four Roman basilicas known as patriarchal cathedrals
in memory of the first centers of the Church. St. John Lateran represents Rome,
the See of Peter; St. Paul Outside the Walls, the See of Alexandria, allegedly
the see presided over by Mark; St. Peter’s, the See of Constantinople; and St.
Mary’s, the See of Antioch, where Mary is supposed to have spent most of her
later life.
One
legend, unreported before the year 1000, gives another name to this feast: Our
Lady of the Snows. According to that story, a wealthy Roman couple pledged
their fortune to the Mother of God. In affirmation, she produced a miraculous
summer snowfall and told them to build a church on the site. The legend was
long celebrated by releasing a shower of white rose petals from the basilica’s
dome every August 5.
Reflection
Theological
debate over Christ’s nature as God and man reached fever pitch in
Constantinople in the early fifth century. The chaplain of Bishop Nestorius
began preaching against the title Theotokos, “Mother of God,”
insisting that the Virgin was mother only of the human Jesus. Nestorius agreed,
decreeing that Mary would henceforth be named “Mother of Christ” in his see.
The people of Constantinople virtually revolted against their bishop’s
refutation of a cherished belief. When the Council of Ephesus refuted
Nestorius, believers took to the streets, enthusiastically chanting, “Theotokos!
Theotokos!”
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/dedication-of-saint-mary-major-basilica/
Lectio:
Matthew 15:21-28
Lectio
Divina
Wednesday,
August 5, 2020
Ordinary Time
1)
Opening prayer
Father
of everlasting goodness,
our origin and guide,
be close to us
and hear the prayers of all who praise You.
Forgive our sins and restore us to life.
Keep us safe in Your love.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2)
Gospel Reading - Matthew 15:21-28
At
that time Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a
Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, "Have pity on me,
Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon." But he did not
say a word in answer to her. His disciples came and asked him, "Send her
away, for she keeps calling out after us." He said in reply, "I was
sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But the woman came
and did him homage, saying, "Lord, help me." He said in reply,
"It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the
dogs." She said, "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that
fall from the table of their masters." Then Jesus said to her in reply,
"O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish."
And her daughter was healed from that hour.
3)
Reflection
Context.
The bread of the children and the great faith of a Canaanite woman is the theme
presented in the liturgical passage taken from chapter 15 of Matthew, who
proposes to the reader of his Gospel a further deepening of faith in Christ.
The episode is preceded by an initiative of the Pharisees and scribes, who go
down to Jerusalem and cause a dispute to take place with Jesus, but which did
not last long, because He, together with His disciples, withdrew to go to the
region of Tyre and Sidon. While He is on the way, a woman from the pagan region
comes to Him. This woman is presented by Matthew by the name of “a Canaanite
woman” who, in the light of the Old Testament, is presented with great
harshness. In the Book of Deuteronomy the inhabitants of Canaan were considered
people full of sins: evil and idolatrous people.
• The dynamic of the account. While Jesus carries out His activity in Galilee
and is on the way toward Tyre and Sidon, a woman comes up to Him and begins to
bother Him with a petition for help for her sick daughter. The woman addresses
Jesus using the title “Son of David,” a title which sounds strange pronounced
by a pagan and that could be justified because of the extreme situation in
which the woman finds herself. It could be thought that this woman already
believes in some way, in the person of Jesus as final Savior, but this is
excluded because it is only in v. 28 that her act of faith is recognized
precisely by Jesus. In the dialogue with the woman Jesus seems to show that
distance and diffidence which reigned between the people of Israel and the
pagans. On one side Jesus confirms to the woman the priority for Israel to have
access to salvation, and before the insistent prayer of His interlocutor Jesus
seems to withdraw, to be at a distance; an incomprehensible attitude for the
reader, but in the intention of Jesus it expresses an act of pedagogical value.
To the first invocation “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David” (v. 22) Jesus
does not respond. To the second intervention, this time on the part of the
disciples, who invite Him to listen to the woman’s prayer, He only expresses
rejection that stresses that secular distance between the chosen people and the
pagan people (vv. 23b-24). But at the insistence of the prayer of the woman who
bows before Jesus, a harsh and mysterious response follows: “It is not fair to
take the children’s food and throw it to little dogs” (v. 26). The woman goes
beyond the harsh response of Jesus’ words and gets a small sign of hope:
the woman recognizes that God’s plan being carried out by Jesus initially
concerns the chosen people, and Jesus asks the woman to recognize that
priority; the woman takes advantage of that priority to present a strong reason
to obtain the miracle: “Ah yes, Lord, but even little dogs eat the scraps that
fall from their masters’ table” (v. 27). The woman has exceeded the test of
faith: “Woman, you have great faith” (v. 28); in fact, to the humble insistence
of her faith corresponds a salvific gesture.
This episode addresses an invitation to every reader of the Gospel to have that
interior attitude of “openness” toward everyone, believers or not, that is to
say, availability and acceptance without distinction toward all people.
4)
Personal questions
•
The disturbing word of God invites you to break open your smugness and all of
your small plans. Are you capable of accepting all the brothers and sisters who
come to you?
• Are you aware of your poverty to be able, like the Canaanite woman, to
entrust yourself to Jesus’ word of salvation?
5)
Concluding Prayer
Lord,
do not thrust me away from Your presence;
do not take away from me Your spirit of holiness.
Give me back the joy of Your salvation,
sustain in me a generous spirit. (Ps 51:11-12)
https://ocarm.org/en/content/lectio/lectio-matthew-1521-28
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét