She came and fell at his feet.

 

Scripture for this reflection can be found at Thursday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB

In today’s gospel Jesus originally just wanted to be there unnoticed, but as soon as people heard he was there, it was hard for Jesus to be left alone. The gospel goes on to tell us of Jesus paying attention to a non-Jewish woman who needed her daughter to be healed of the demons that were plaguing her. As we hear, he was reluctant at first to respond to the woman.

Jesus saying to her, “Let the children be fed first. For it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs” sounds harsh to my ears. At this point, Jesus had been mainly ministering to people who were of Jewish background. But what I think was happening here was that Jesus was starting to reach beyond the Jewish circles and reaching out to the Gentiles to bring his teachings of faith in God and the fact that He’s the savior not only of the chosen people, but for everyone. Once she responds that “even dogs get the scraps from the children’s table,” Jesus sees her faith and grants her request. Central to all of Jesus’s healings in the gospels is faith in Him and His power to cure. He saw in this non-Jewish woman faith in His power to cure her daughter and He granted her request.

This woman is also an example for all of us who may have children that may need our prayers. This woman’s daughter is seriously sick with a demon, and Jesus heals her. We may not have children or relatives as sick as this child, but they may be away from the practice of the faith and still need our prayers for healing and to return to the church. This woman serves as an example of what we should be doing for those people we love: our prayers for them.

During this upcoming season of Lent, let us encourage all those in our lives to return to church on Ash Wednesday, or anytime throughout Lent, to receive the healing that is waiting for them in the sacrament of confession and of Holy Communion. Our prayers and encouragement for those away from Church can be all they need to come back into relationship with God through his Holy Church.

Beatitudes or Be Attitude

 

Scripture reading for today's reflection is from Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time | USCCB

In our gospel for today, we hear the familiar Beatitudes. We are all familiar with these teachings of Jesus. We’ve heard the beatitudes numerous times throughout our lives, so much so they have become like second nature. But the question is: do we really pay attention to what the Lord is trying to teach us in them?

In these teachings from the Lord, he is teaching us what our attitudes in life should be, in other words: “Be-attitudes.” The Lord is calling us to a life of humility. He’s calling us to be more faithful to our calling as His followers. It’s a way of life that will bring us closer to God.

The Lord starts off by saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus is inviting us to humility. In other words, we are to think less of ourselves and more of God and of others in our lives. We are to focus on the command of “Love of God and love of neighbor.” By focusing on serving God and that of others will lead us to the rewards of heaven.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” We all come across those in our lives that are struggling due to various issues or problems. We are called to bring comfort to these people by being available to them, whether by listening or by just being present and showing compassion to them in their time of need. Sometimes we don’t need to say anything to those who are suffering, we just need to be “good listeners” to those who needs someone who is dealing with a problem.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” is another teaching that our Lord expects us to follow. If there’s any dispute or problem within our family or among our friends, we are called to bring the peace of God into whatever way we can. Bringing the love of God into any dispute or problem can help solve the issue.  

Finally, our Lord reminds us that being his followers is not easy. He says, “Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.” As we live out our lives as followers of Jesus Christ, let us always remain focused on doing what is right according to the Lord and His teachings. People may not understand where we are coming from and attack us for it. Our focus should always be on doing the Will of God. Pleasing God is more important than worrying about what other people may think of us.

Let us rejoice that we are followers of Jesus Christ and pray for those in our lives that may be away from the Lord for whatever reason. Our reward, then, will be great in heaven.