20th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) - 20 August
20th August 2023
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) - 20 August
“Upon receiving Holy Communion, the Adorable Blood of Jesus Christ really flows in our veins and His Flesh is really blended with ours.” - St John Marie Vianney
We pray for all children in our parish who are today receiving the Blessed Sacrament for the first time in Holy Communion. May they always devotedly prepare themselves to receive Christ with a pure heart so they may be sanctified and united to Him in this most blessed sacrament. 🙏
A reflection on today's Gospel by the Venerable Archbishop Fulton J Sheen:
"'Believe Me, I have not found faith like this, even in Israel’ (Luke 7:10).
"This first pagan [the Roman Centurion] who received such praise from Our Divine Lord for his faith was one of “those children of God” scattered abroad in the world who were eventually to be brought into unity through the Redemption.
"The second miracle performed by Our Lord on a pagan was the healing of the daughter of the Syro-Phoenician woman. This reluctance to work a miracle for the centurion had only been implied, but here He refused explicitly, perhaps to draw out the woman’s faith. The miracle took place in the neighbourhood of Tyre and Sidon. The woman is described as coming from Canaan and being of Syro-Phoenician descent. She was, therefore, completely set apart from the Jews. When she asked a boon for her daughter, whom she described as ‘truly cruelly troubled by an evil spirit,’ Our Lord: ‘Gave her no word in answer; but His disciples came to Him and pleaded with Him; Rid us of her, they said, she is following us with her cries’ (Matthew 15:23).
"The Apostles were not asking for a miracle to be worked for the woman’s sake; they only wanted to be left alone, undisturbed, in selfish ease. As she continued to plead and to worship Him, Our Blessed Lord proceeded to test her faith with a seemingly hard remark: ‘It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs’ (Matthew 15:26).
"The children He was referring to were, of course, the Jews. The term ‘dogs’ signified contempt, and it was not beyond the Jews to apply it often to the Gentiles.
"As the Roman centurion endured a seeming delay, so this woman suffered a stunning rebuff. She, however, responded with a perfect act of faith: ‘Ah yes, Lord, but the dogs feed on the crumbs that fall from their master’s table’ (Matthew 15:27).
"This woman was saying to Our Lord: ‘I accept this title and the dignity that goes with it: for even the dogs are fed by the Master; they may not be given the full feast which has been spread for the children of Israel, but the dogs will get a portion; and it will still come from the Master’s table.’ She pleaded that she belonged to the Master’s household, even though her place in it was lower. According to the very name which the Lord had given her, she was not an alien. And by accepting this name, she could claim all that it included.
"She had conquered by faith, and the Master said to her: ‘Woman, for this great faith of thine, let thy will be granted’ (Matthew 15:28).
"Like Joseph of old, who showed severity to his brethren for but a brief time, the Saviour did not maintain His apparent disdain for long; and He granted the healing of the daughter, again at a distance."
(Life of Christ)
Prayer of Faith
O Divine, Eternal Father,
I abandon myself into Your hands;
Do with me whatever You will.
Whatever You may do, I thank You.
I am ready for all, I accept all.
Let only Your will be done in me,
And in all Your creatures.
I wish no more than this, O Lord.
Into Your hands I commend my spirit;
I offer it to You, Lord,
and so need to give myself,
to surrender myself into Your hands,
Without reserve and with boundless confidence,
For You are my Father. Amen. 🙏❤💐
Food for thought
“Take this and eat; this is My Body” (Mt 26:26).
Jesus Christ, the second person of the Divine Trinity, the Creator of all things, and Lord of all, is truly present in the Sacrament of the altar. What a pity, then, that He is so often received with indifference and irreverence. How wonderful and hidden is the grace bestowed by this Sacrament on the faithful of Christ. Spiritual grace is conferred by this Sacrament, lost virtue is renewed in the soul, and the beauty destroyed by sin returns again. Therefore, let us always seek to be mindful of Who it is we receive in Holy Communion and pay Him all due reverence and honour. Let us prepare our entire being to welcome Christ into ourselves. Let us purify our souls through the Sacrament of Penance and pray to God for the grace of devotion. And let us not forget to maintain a devout frame of mind after receiving the Blessed Sacrament in Holy Communion. Do not immediately turn aside to worldly pleasures. Remain recollected with Christ, for you have Him within you Whom all the world cannot take from you.