From Our Pastor

08-20-2023Weekly ReflectionFr. Aruldoss, Pastor

Dear people of God,

Good morning to you all. Our St. Boniface catholic church is having their Fall Festival this Sun, Aug 20. Homestyle dinner, Charcoal Chicken and other fun games for both adult and children are available after the 10:00am Mass. You are most welcome.

God’s mercy to entire humanity without borders is one of the themes running through all three readings this 20th Sunday. In the first reading of today, Prophet Isaiah proclaims to the Jewish people of that time that outsiders could be saved: “The foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, ministering to him, loving the name of the Lord, and becoming his servants-all who keep the Sabbath free from profanation and hold to my covenant, then I will bring to my holy mountain and make joyful in my house of prayer.”

The point of the Isaiah is that all can be saved. But there must be some response or cooperation to the will of God. For us Christian, salvation is possible only through Jesus and through His Church. The second reading is from the Letter to the Romans and basically emphasizes once again that non-Jews can be saved and invited to salvation in Jesus Christ.

Finally, the Gospel of Matthew presents us with a Canaanite woman. This woman clearly wants healing for her daughter. She loves her daughter enough that she is willing to accost Jesus and even argue with him for the healing of her daughter. The words of Jesus to her sound harsh to us but he tested her faith. At the end of the encounter, Jesus affirmed her as a woman of great faith and granted her request. This Canaanite woman teaches us a simple but a powerful prayer. That woman came up to Jesus and knelt at His feet and pleaded: “Lord, help me.” That simple gesture of coming up to Jesus and kneeling at His feet and pleading with Him with just three simple words should inspire us to do likewise whenever we are in difficulty and in need.

We must come before Jesus and kneel before Him with the simple prayer "Lord, help me." May the Lord Jesus take pity on us and look at our humble faith and grant us what we need. Have a Blessed Sunday!

Yours in Christ

Fr. Doss