Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Intention: For all students returning to our schools, especially those who arrive carrying hardship at home, that they may find a steady welcome in their teachers and a place of belonging in their classrooms.
Today’s 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 Jesus did not say a word in answer to her. Jesus’ 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 Jesus 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 the woman’s daughter was healed from that hour.
From the First Meditation for the Time of Retreat | Saint John Baptist de La Salle
God is so good that, having created us, he wills that all of us come to the knowledge of the truth. This truth is God himself and what he has desired to reveal to us through Jesus Christ, through the holy apostles, and through his Church. This is why God wills all people to be instructed, so that their minds may be enlightened by the light of faith.
Prayer
Eternal Father, a woman outside the covenant asked, and kept asking, and would not be turned away. Give us her persistence, and give us the humility to recognize the people we have quietly decided do not belong. Widen the table. Let no one who comes to our doors be treated as a stranger. We ask this of you who lives and reigns with your Son and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.