Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 08-04-04, Memorial, St. John Vianney

USCCB.org/New American Bible ^ | 08-04-04 | New American Bible

[Salvation]

August 4, 2004
Memorial of Saint John Vianney, priest

Psalm: Wednesday 34 Reading I Responsorial Psalm Gospel

Reading I
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.

Responsorial Psalm
Jeremiah 31:10, 11-12ab, 13

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.

Gospel
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.

[Salvation]

For your reading, reflection, faith-sharing, comments, questions, discussion.

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Alleluia Ping!

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St John Vianney, Patron of Parish Priests (1786-1859) [Cure of Ars]

The Cure Of Ars: Jean-Marie Vianney

[Salvation]

From: Matthew 15:21-28


The Canaanite Woman

---

[21] And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of
Tyre and Sidon. [22] And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region
came out and cried, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my
daughter is severely possessed by a demon." [23] But He did not answer
her a word. And His disciples came and begged Him, saying, "Send her
away, for she is crying after us." [24] He answered, "I was sent only
to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." [25] But she came and knelt
before Him, saying, "Lord, help me." [26] And He answered, "It is not
fair to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." [27] She
said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their
master's table." [28] Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your
faith! Be it done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed
instantly.

---

Commentary:


21-22. Tyre and Sidon were Phoenician cities on the Mediterranean
coast, in present-day Lebanon. They were never part of Galilee but
they were near its northeastern border. In Jesus' time they were
outside the territory of Herod Antipas. Jesus withdrew to this area to
escape persecution from Herod and from the Jewish authorities and to
concentrate on training His Apostles.


Most of the inhabitants of the district of Tyre and Sidon were pagans.
St. Matthew calls this woman a "Canaanite"; according to Genesis
(10:15), this district was one of the first to be settled by the
Canaanites; St. Mark describes the woman as a "Syrophoenician" (Mark
7:26). Both Gospels point out that she is a pagan, which means that
her faith in our Lord is more remarkable; the same applies in the case
of the centurion (Matthew 8:5-13).


The Canaanite woman's prayer is quite perfect: she recognizes Jesus as
the Messiah (the Son of David)--which contrasts with the unbelief of
the Jews; she expresses her need in clear, simple words; she persists,
undismayed by obstacles; and she expresses her request in all humility:
"Have mercy on me." Our prayer should have the same qualities of
faith, trust, perseverance and humility.


24. What Jesus says here does not take from the universal reference of
His teaching (cf. Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15-16). Our Lord came to
bring His Gospel to the whole world, but He Himself addressed only the
Jews; later on He will charge His Apostles to preach the Gospel to
pagans. St. Paul, in his missionary journeys, also adopted the policy
of preaching in the first instance to the Jews (Acts 13:46).


25-28. This dialogue between Jesus and the woman is especially
beautiful. By appearing to be harsh He so strengthens the woman's
faith that she deserves exceptional praise: "Great is your faith!" Our
own conversation with Christ should be like that: "Persevere in
prayer. Persevere, even when your efforts seem barren. Prayer is
always fruitful" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 101).

---

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

[Salvation]

FEAST OF THE DAY

St. John Mary Vianney was born at Lyons, France in 1786. As a
youth, John exhibited great potential for pastoral ministry. He
developed a deep prayer life and was known around his hometown
for his catechism lessons to his peers. John's desire for ordination
began to manifest itself when John was a young man. His father
opposed him at first because he was a valuable assistant on the
family's farm. Eventually, John was allowed to pursue his vocation.
John entered the seminary at the age of nineteen but struggled
through the seminary because of his lack in previous schooling. John
eventually made it through his schooling and was ordained to the
priesthood in August 1815.

St. John was received his first (and only) assignment to the parish at
Ars, France and gained renown as a confessor and dedicated
pastor. As his reputation grew, it was not unknown for him to spend
more than 11 hours in a confessional in one day, he was known to
regularly hear confessions for more than 16 hours during the
summer.

John never let up in his work or his love for his people. St. John was
known to have physical battles with the devil, bring about miraculous
cures, was graced by God with the gifts of intuition and prophesy and
possessed the ability to read the hearts of penitents. During his life
he established a home for girls and always continued his parish
duties. St. John gained a world wide reputation as a confessor, near
the end of his life it is estimated that he received more than 300
pilgrims per day. John died in 1859, is known as the Cure of Ars, or
Pastor of Ars, and is one of few diocesan priests in the Canon of
Saints. St. John is the patron of priests and parish clergy. Pope Pius
XI canonized St. John Baptiste Mary Vianney a saint on May 31,
1925.


QUOTE OF THE DAY

When our hands have touched spices, they give fragrance to all they
handle. Let us make our prayers pass through the hands of the
Blessed Virgin. She will make them fragrant. -St. John Vianney


TODAY IN HISTORY

1221 Death of St. Dominic
1879 Pope Leo XIII issued the encyclical "Aeterni patris,"


TODAY'S TIDBIT

Usury is excessive interest charged for the loan and use of money. It
is a violation of justice.


INTENTION FOR THE DAY

Please pray through the intercession of St. John Vianney for all parish
priests.

[Salvation]

Sorry, I forgot to ping you to #3.

[Salvation]

Wednesday, August 04, 2004
St. John Mary Vianney, Priest (Memorial)

First Reading: Psalm: Gospel:

Jeremiah 31:1-7 Jeremiah 31:10-13 Matthew 15:21-28 There is nothing which edifies others so much as charity and kindness, by which, as by the oil in our lamp, the flame of good example is kept alive.  -- St. Francis de Sales

[Askel5]

ROMAN MISSAL ... DOUAY TEXTS

O woman, great is thy faith: be it done to thee as thou wilt

.......................... †JMJ† ..........................
18th Week in Ordinary Time
....................... † AMDG † .......................


FIRST READING – Jeremias 31:1-7
With age-old love I have loved you.

At that time, saith the Lord,
I will be the God of all the families of Israel and they shall be my people.

Thus saith the Lord:
The people were left and escaped from the sword,
found grace in the desert: Israel shall to his rest.
The Lord hath appeared from afar to me.
Yea I have loved thee with everlasting love,
therefore have I drawn thee, taking pity on thee.

And I will build thee again,
and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel:
thou shalt again be adorned with thy timbrels,
and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry.

Thou shalt yet plant vineyards in the mountains of Samaria:
the planters shall plant,
and they shall not gather the vintage before the time.

For there shall be a day,
in which the watchmen on mount Ephraim, shall cry:
Arise, and let us go up to Sion to the Lord our God.

For thus saith the Lord: Rejoice ye in the joy of Jacob,
and neigh before the head of the Gentiles:
shout ye, and sing, and say:
Save, O Lord, thy people, the remnant of Israel.


REPONSORIAL PSALM – Luke 7:16
Prophéta magnus surréxit in nobis et Deus visitávit plebem suam.
R. Alleluia, alleluia
A great prophet is risen up among us: and, God hath visited his people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia


GOSPEL – Mt 15:21-28
O woman, great is your faith!

And Jesus went from thence,
and retired into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.

And behold a woman of Canaan who came out of those coasts,
crying out, said to him:
Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David:
my daughter is grievously troubled by the devil.

Who answered her not a word.
And his disciples came and besought him, saying:
Send her away, for she crieth after us:
And he answering, said:
I was not sent but to the sheep that are lost of the house of Israel.

But she came and adored him, saying: Lord, help me.

Who answering, said:
It is not good to take the bread of the children,
and to cast it to the dogs.

But she said: Yea, Lord;
for the whelps also eat of the crumbs
that fall from the table of their masters.

Then Jesus answering, said to her:
O woman, great is thy faith:
be it done to thee as thou wilt:

and her daughter was cured from that hour.

[NYer]

Wednesday August 4, 2004   Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading (Jeremiah 31:1-7)   Gospel (St. Matthew 15:21-28)

When we hear this story in the Gospel today about how this woman is calling out after the Lord and the Lord gives no reply, on first hearing that strikes us as being very much unlike the Lord. One would think He is going to be filled with mercy and compassion and that He would hear this woman, but He says to her, I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel. When the woman continues to push, the Lord, recognizing her faith, blesses her abundantly. 

For those of us who already have faith, this gives us great hope. Here is a woman who was not a Jew coming to the Lord to beg a favor, and when the woman demonstrates the depth of her faith the Lord blesses her. But for us, we are already incorporated into Christ, so we are the children, the ones for whom He has come. Therefore, what He wants more than anything is to be able to give us His blessings. Of course, the same requirement is there – we have to have faith. It is not enough to be able to sit back and say, “Well, I’m baptized into the Lord, so everything is mine.” We know better than that. Rather, we have to be able to demonstrate our belief in Him and our love for Him; and as that is done, we know it is the very purpose for which He came.

Now we also have to keep in mind that there are a couple of occasions where Our Lord said to certain pagans, I have never seen such faith in Israel. Sometimes it is easier for an outsider to be able to look and have that faith than it is for someone on the inside because we just take it for granted and sometimes we lose our perspective. Yet, at the same time, if we have strayed – and I think it is fair to say that there are many within the Church who have certainly done so – we look at the first reading and we see the Lord promising to bring His people back from exile. He says, With age-old love I have loved you, therefore I will heal you. The Lord has not abandoned His people. He has made promises, and He will remain faithful to those promises. It is we who have not remained faithful to the promises we have made to Him in Baptism. Yet, at the same time, we hear Our Lord saying that He has loved us. He does love us and He will continue to love us. What He wants is for us to be healed so that we will be faithful, so that we will love Him.

We have all experienced that as we look back in our lives and we see the unfortunate path that we may have walked down, and then we see the mercy of God in our lives at the same time, pulling us out of that, putting us back on the right track, and helping us to live according to the way that we should. So we see that what the Lord has done for us individually is exactly what He wants to do for the whole Church universally. Yet, at the same time, since He came so that the Jews and the Gentiles would be incorporated into the same covenant, He wants this for all the people. So for those who will be able to make that act of faith in Christ and for those who will choose to love Him, we have that guarantee of His mercy, of His love, of being His people and He being our God; not in some theoretical or generic way, but intimately, profoundly united with God through Jesus Christ. That is what He is offering to us.

For us to be able to hear that He loves us (and His love never ends), that He has come for the children of Israel (of which we are the New Israel, being incorporated into Christ), all this is ours if we are only willing to avail ourselves of it. But it requires exactly what we see in this Canaanite woman: faith, humility, and love. If we are willing to humble ourselves, if we are willing to seek Him and His glory, then all the promises He has made are right there for us. He will be our God and we will be His people – in love with Him and united with Him forever.

[Salvation]

Thank you friend.

[Salvation]

The Word Among Us

Wednesday, August 04, 2004

Meditation
Matthew 15:21-28



Did you know that in the gospels only two people are commended as having “great faith”? One is the centurion who tells Jesus, “Lord, only speak the word, and my servant will be healed” (Matthew 8:8,10). And the other is this Canaanite woman, whose persistence with Jesus paid off in healing for her daughter (15:28). What’s even more impressive is that both were Gentiles, outsiders who would have been considered unclean by most faithful Jews.

Because she was a woman as well as a Canaanite, this desperate mother had two strikes against her. But that didn’t stop her. Out of love for her daughter and with faith in Jesus’ power to heal, she didn’t let these “handicaps” get in the way. She began by addressing Jesus in Jewish terms of faith—“Lord” and “Son of David.” When Jesus made no reply at first, she persisted and asked once more for his help. Receiving yet another rebuff, she cleverly and humbly acknowledged Jesus’ words but boldly pointed out that even she—an alien to the Jewish covenant—could benefit from Jesus’ ministry to the Jews. Finally, Jesus commended her great faith and healed her daughter.

There are two key aspects to this woman’s “great faith.” First, she was humble. And second, she was persistent. She readily paid Jesus homage—which a Gentile woman would not have considered necessary—and she was quick to acknowledge her lowly position as a non-Jew in God’s plan of salvation. As for her persistence, this woman was not put off by Jesus’ silence, by the rebukes of the disciples, or even by Jesus’ initial response. Instead, these obstacles only made her draw even closer to Jesus and intensified the earnestness of her request!

If you have a need that calls for intercession, let this woman’s humility and persistence teach you how to approach Jesus. Don’t worry about how you can best grow in these two virtues. Every day, we face challenges and trials that give us plenty of opportunities to learn their ways. If we just keep our eyes open and our hearts pure, we will become humble, and we will end up persisting. Then, we’ll learn that Jesus is always with us, strengthening our faith and hearing our prayers.

“Jesus, I want to draw closer to you. Teach me, Lord, always to approach you with humble and persistent faith.”

[Salvation]

This was something I did not realize:

Did you know that in the gospels only two people are commended as having “great faith”? One is the centurion who tells Jesus, “Lord, only speak the word, and my servant will be healed” (Matthew 8:8,10). And the other is this Canaanite woman, whose persistence with Jesus paid off in healing for her daughter (15:28). What’s even more impressive is that both were Gentiles, outsiders who would have been considered unclean by most faithful Jews.

[Salvation]

One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

All Issues > Volume 20, Number 5

<< Wednesday, August 4, 2004 >>

St. John Vianney

Jeremiah 31:1-7

Jeremiah 31:10-13

Matthew 15:21-28

View Readings

WILL YOU VOLUNTEER?

“Jesus then said in reply, ‘Woman, you have great faith! Your wish will come to pass.’ ” —Matthew 15:28

Jesus told only one person in the Gospels that she had great faith. Although I am sure Mary, Joseph, and others had great faith, the Canaanite woman was the only person mentioned in the Gospels to have been told by Jesus: “You have great faith!” (Mt 15:28)

Pope John Paul II has maintained that the primary reason for the various crises in our world is the crisis of faith. Under these circumstances, I would expect that the Lord is raising up men and women of great faith. Would you volunteer to be one of those men or women of great faith? If so, to show that you are truly willing to be a man or woman of great faith:

• Pray daily for great faith, especially by praying the Mass and receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation frequently.
• Hear, read, share, and do God’s word daily, for faith “comes through hearing, and what is heard is the word of Christ” (Rm 10:17).
• Devote yourself to Christian community (see Acts 2:42), the ideal atmosphere to grow in faith, and radically curtail involvement in the culture of death, which has proven to destroy faith with an unprecedented efficiency.
• Exercise the faith you have.

If we volunteer to be men and women of great faith, and if we show we are serious about this, the Lord will probably make us men and women of great faith, which is what the world needs more than anything else. “All depends on faith” (Rm 4:16).

Prayer: Father, may I cherish my faith and try to grow in it daily.

Promise: “With age-old love I have loved you; so I have kept My mercy toward you.” —Jer 31:3

Praise: St. John’s faith was so great that he was able to accept his priestly duties no matter how high the demand on him might be.