Sunday, August 20, 2017

'Woman, great is your faith!'

+ RWS 769, August 20, 2017, 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Gospel: Matthew 15:21-28
Then Jesus said to her in reply, “O woman, great is your faith!  Let it be done for you as you wish.”

Having great faith
By Bishop Precioso D. Cantillas, SDB, DD

      Having a great faith does not only drive away doubts in our minds and hearts which could make our life and work uncertain, but, it also makes us feel secure about our being, gives us the sense of power and makes us efficient and effective in every act we do. Faith, essentially, is being certain of something not on the grounds of one’s reason and comprehension of the thing believed, but on the authority of someone acknowledged as superior to the believer.  Faith, they say, is like a leap in the dark, a decision to act when there are no reasonable arguments for it other than the assurance of an authority. Having faith does not diminish the value and dignity of the human reason, rather, it provides the person with a higher level of truth and reality that would somehow complete and perfect human reasoning. In simple words, faith is like what the woman in the gospel did, sure and insistent that Jesus would cure her sick daughter.
      Anyone could have a great faith. He/she needs to accept the truth and fact that God is the Lord, and we are simply His creatures; that this loving God wants to save everyone from total destruction. What one needs to do is simply call on God, accept Him as Lord of his life and trust in His words and worship and serve Him in love. This is done concretely by becoming a faithful member in the Church that God has established on earth through Jesus and His apostles and the Sacraments offered by this Church. Moreover, the believer lives and acts in accordance with the life and teaching of Jesus and His Church in his daily works and activities, assuring him of salvation.

Faith’s reward
By Teresa R. Tunay, OCDS

      One of the reasons Mrs. Perfidia works so hard is she wants to buy a new car.  “Samahan mo ng tamang dasal para mas madali mong makuha ang gusto mo,” said her close friend, Mrs. Aviar, a bible-believing matron who seems to have found the perfect formula for making God listen to her prayers.  Mrs. A added that Mrs. P should “have faith” and describe what she is praying for—if it’s a car, state the exact color (not just “blue” but sky blue, cobalt blue, electric blue, whatever), the brand and model, etc.—and then “claim it”, as if it’s already hers.
      If it’s the way to get what we want, why must we drag in God into the picture, equating prayer with talking to a car salesman?  What kind of faith is that which goads us on to merely acquiring things to satisfy ourselves?  Even atheists or car thieves can get the car of their dreams without “praying” for it and “claiming” it. 
      The faith of the woman described in today’s gospel story is different—first, she asks not for a luxury item but for healing; second, she asks not for herself but for another person; third, she perseveres even when our Lord seems deaf to her pleas.  Sometimes, in our ignorance, we lose our faith when God doesn’t give us what we are asking for.  But faith is tested precisely by the unavailability of the thing or the state asked for.  When we continue to believe in God, in His goodness and love for us despite His deafness and neglect of us—that is faith.  And always, it is rewarded in ways we never imagine we could ever be blessed with.  

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