St. Mary's Catholic Church of Tomahawk, WI

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

We are in the twentieth ordinary Sunday of year A. The first reading tells us that God’s house shall be a house of prayer for all people. God’s justice and salvific power embodies all people to those who observe what is right and do what is just. How do we consider this invitation of God to righteousness and justice? May our faith and devotion lead us always to God’s house to pray, to encounter and to love the Almighty.

In the second reading we hear St. Paul’s struggle to understand why his fellow Jews were not embracing his gospel of salvation. Consequently, Paul turned to the Gentiles, and the Jews’ rejection has meant salvation for Gentiles. Thus Paul becomes an apostle of gentiles, though he is also the same for Jews. Finally, Paul concludes that in spite of their disobedience, God saved all through His mercy. May we seek God’s mercy always for our salvation.

In the Gospel we hear a non-Jewish lady approaching Jesus with a prayerful supplication to heal her daughter. She calls Jesus as Lord and Son of David, where Jesus remarks that her faith is great, which leads to the healing of her daughter. This passage also explains that Jesus’s mission is expanded to the lost sheep of Israel and also to the Gentiles. How do we in such a context work out a difficult situation? May our faith lead us to Jesus who is there to help us always.

Fr. Aloysius Royan Anthony