Gospel: 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.
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Reflection:
Is our faith in the Lord as strong as the Canaanite woman in the gospel?
The strong faith of the Canaanite woman whose daughter was tormented by a
devil is very evident in the gospel. She was initially snubbed by Jesus but she
persisted. She heard the disciples told Jesus: “Send her away.” But she did not
budge a bit.
Since she was not a Jew, Jesus told her: “I was sent only to the lost
sheep of Israel.” But the more that she persisted; she even knelt before Jesus begs
Him and said: “Lord help me.”
After a few more dialogues Jesus saw the Canaanite woman’s strong faith
thus He said to her: “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as
you wish.” And the woman’s daughter was healed from that hour.
We too have our own special petitions before Jesus and we too may have
not receive any signs of reply from Jesus yet. In spite of these we must
continue to have faith and be always persistent in following Jesus. Because God’s
silence and rejections to our petitions and prayers are simply test of faith
for us. God wants to see until where we would be willing to follow Him.
Would we still follow even if we seem to get nothing in return from the
Lord? if we still follow even if we get nothing yet in return then its faith.
Because faith is something that we can’t see and touch but is always felt by
our hearts. - Marino J.
Dasmarinas
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