GOSPEL POWER l AUGUST 3, 2022 - WEDNESDAY

18th Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel: Mt 15:21-28 

21Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon.  22Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started  shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is  tormented by a demon.” 23But he did not answer her at all. And his  disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps  shouting after us.” 24He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep  of the house of Israel.” 25But she came and knelt before him, saying,  “Lord, help me.” 26He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s  food and throw it to the dogs.” 27She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the  dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28Then Jesus  answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as  you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly. 

Prayer can, at times, be an experience of wrestling with  God, very much like what Jacob went through when he  contended with the divine throughout the night and, at  daybreak, received a blessing and a new name (Gn 32:25-29). It is  while struggling that faith is purified and perfected. The Canaanite  woman, too, in today’s Gospel wrestles with Jesus, not employing  muscle but words, to make her divine contender concede and bestow  on her the prize. In this verbal match with Jesus, the woman exhibits  a remarkable concentration on what Jesus is saying, and this enables  her to turn his very words to her favor. With this, she enlightens us  on a very important but often neglected aspect of prayer — that is,  humble and focused listening. The silent space in prayer may very well  hold the key to God’s response, but we can miss it if we are busy  talking and not taking time to listen. 

Lord Jesus, teach us to be at home with the wordless silence of faith-filled  prayer, where you speak directly to our hearts. Amen.