Daily Mass Readings for Wednesday, 9 August 2023
First Reading: Numbers 13: 1-2, 25 – 14: 1, 26a-29a, 34-35
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 106: 6-7ab, 13-14, 21-22, 23
Alleluia: Luke 7: 16
Gospel: Matthew 15: 21-28
The LORD said to Moses
"Send men to reconnoiter the land of Canaan,
which I am giving the children of Israel.
You shall send one man from each ancestral tribe,
all of them princes."
After reconnoitering the land for forty days they returned,
met Moses and Aaron and the whole congregation of the children of Israel
in the desert of Paran at Kadesh,
made a report to them all,
and showed the fruit of the country
to the whole congregation.
They told Moses: "We went into the land to which you sent us.
It does indeed flow with milk and honey, and here is its fruit.
However, the people who are living in the land are fierce,
and the towns are fortified and very strong.
Besides, we saw descendants of the Anakim there.
Amalekites live in the region of the Negeb;
Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites dwell in the highlands,
and Canaanites along the seacoast and the banks of the Jordan."
Caleb, however, to quiet the people toward Moses, said,
"We ought to go up and seize the land, for we can certainly do so."
But the men who had gone up with him said,
"We cannot attack these people; they are too strong for us."
So they spread discouraging reports among the children of Israel
about the land they had scouted, saying,
"The land that we explored is a country that consumes its inhabitants.
And all the people we saw there are huge, veritable giants;
we felt like mere grasshoppers, and so we must have seemed to them."
At this, the whole community broke out with loud cries,
and even in the night the people wailed.
The LORD said to Moses and Aaron:
"How long will this wicked assembly grumble against me?
I have heard the grumblings of the children of Israel against me.
Tell them: By my life, says the LORD,
I will do to you just what I have heard you say.
Here in the desert shall your dead bodies fall.
Forty days you spent in scouting the land;
forty years shall you suffer for your crimes:
one year for each day.
Thus you will realize what it means to oppose me.
I, the LORD, have sworn to do this
to all this wicked assembly that conspired against me:
here in the desert they shall die to the last man."
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 106:6-7ab, 13-14, 21-22, 23
Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
We have sinned, we and our fathers;
we have committed crimes; we have done wrong.
Our fathers in Egypt
considered not your wonders.
Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
But soon they forgot his works;
they waited not for his counsel.
They gave way to craving in the desert
and tempted God in the wilderness.
Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
They forgot the God who had saved them,
who had done great deeds in Egypt,
Wondrous deeds in the land of Ham,
terrible things at the Red Sea.
Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
Then he spoke of exterminating them,
but Moses, his chosen one,
Withstood him in the breach
to turn back his destructive wrath.
Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
Alleluia
Lk 7:16
Alleluia, alleluia.
A great prophet has arisen in our midst
and God has visited his people.
Alleluia, alleluia.
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.
Todays Reflection
Humble Faith
In the non-Jewish district of Tyre and Sidon, Jesus and his disciples traveled 40 miles by foot to flee Herod and the Pharisees. While there, Jesus intended to keep a low profile, but word of His presence spread, and a Canaanite woman came to Jesus to beg for his healing of her daughter. Initially, Jesus remained silent, but she came with deep faith and trust. Jesus eventually responded to her, stating that His mission during His public ministry was to the "lost sheep of the house of Israel," meaning, the Jews. Later, Jesus would expand His mission to include the Gentiles.
The Gentile woman's faith in Jesus as the Messiah was evident by calling Him "Son of David." Her trust in Jesus' ability to heal her daughter was expressed in simple and clear words, and she persevered in her prayer. Jesus' silence was not a sign of His disfavor, but rather a sign of His purifying action drawing us closer to Him.
To imitate the qualities of this woman's prayer, we must first acknowledge the truth of Jesus as the Messiah, Son of David, Savior of the World, and God Incarnate. We should make our prayers simple, clear, and humble, presenting our needs and asking for God's help. Finally, persevere in prayer, being fervent, relentless, and unwavering. We must humble ourselves before the almighty power and mercy of God and never cease to put all our hope in Him.
In conclusion, Jesus is truly the Messiah, Son of David, and the Son of God. We should trust in Him and persevere through all things, putting all our hope in Him.
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