"Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters." (Mt 15:27)
READING OF THE DAY
A reading from the book of Jeremiah
JER 31:1-7
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.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY
From the Gospel according to Matthew
MT 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.
WEDNESDAY OF THE EIGHTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - MT 15:21-28
THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE
Dear People of God,
The Word of God in today's Gospel tells the story of a Canaanite woman who came to ask God to heal her daughter who was possessed by a demon.
She is a person with absolute trust and faith in God. Very few people have faith like her.
Her faith is so strong because it is from the loving heart of a mother for her daughter. Because of love, she accepted all the difficulties and challenges that came to her. She only wished to find a doctor to heal her daughter.
She believed that only God, the One who came down from heaven, had the power to exorcise the demons that were tormenting her daughter. When she placed her complete trust and faith in God, she was ready to accept everything that came her way, even the challenge Jesus gave her, when He said: "It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs." But because of love, she accepted that challenge.
Today's Word of God also teaches humanity a lesson: to look at the immense love of the Canaanite woman for her daughter, as well as her absolute trust in God. To have faith in God, she also had to go through God's purification and testing. No one can have absolute faith in God without going through difficulties, challenges, and purifications sent by God Himself. God will also test people's faith in God as He tested the Canaanite woman. Those who persevere, obey, and faithfully accept all that God sends, their faith and prayers will be answered by God and He will grant all the graces they ask for.
In the world today, there are still many people who are suffering, imprisoned, and harassed by Satan. God calls His children to run to God, believe, trust, persevere, obey, and be faithful to God in all things. Then He will heal, will grant all good things like the image of the daughter of the Canaanite woman who was possessed by a demon that God exorcised and healed.
In this world, there is no doctor capable of casting out demons, except the almighty God alone.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
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