Daily Mass Reading & Meditation for Thursday, 13 February 2014 - Catholic Meditations

Daily Mass Reading & Meditation for Thursday, 13 February 2014  - Catholic Meditations
Meditation: Mark 7: The Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith
24 From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre.[a] He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, 25 but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered him, “Sir,[b] even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” 29 Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.” 30 So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
Footnotes:
a. Mark 7:24 Other ancient authorities add and Sidon
b. Mark 7:28 Or Lord; other ancient authorities prefix Yes
5th Week in Ordinary Time
His heart was turned away from the Lord. (1 Kings 11:9)
Have you ever seen a dog sit by a table, begging for scraps? Even if he is trained not to beg or whine, that dog will sit there, as near to the table as he is allowed, with ears perked up and alert, and with imploring eyes, as he waits for just one morsel to fall his way.
In today’s readings, we hear the story of a Syrophoenician woman who compares herself to a dog waiting for scraps to drop on the floor. She has endured great suffering through her daughter’s demonic possession and is willing to do anything—even plead with this Jewish miracle worker—in order to secure healing for her daughter. You can just hear the persistence and strong determination in her voice as she begs Jesus for his help, even after he repeatedly dismisses her. She doesn’t even believe in Yahweh, but somehow she knows that he can deliver her girl. This single-minded trust and faith in Jesus wins the day as she receives the desire of her heart: her daughter’s deliverance.
In the first reading, we see that Solomon’s situation is almost the complete opposite of the Syrophoenician woman. Solomon has been so amazingly blessed by God. He has sat at God’s table and enjoyed the rich banquet of food and delights of wealth. But his passion for the one true God has faded. He is worried that the “gods” of the nations around him are more powerful than Yahweh. He is seduced by the wealth and worldly status of these nations and wants Israel to join them rather than be the unique “light to the nations” that God has called it to be. God has given him so much, but it seems to have done little to convince Solomon of his goodness and love.
These readings show us that a desperate foreigner can receive more blessing than a powerful king of the chosen people. The key is faith and trust, not power and privilege. So dare to persist in your prayers to God. Know that he will reward you for your faithfulness!
“Lord, help me stay focused on you. Don’t let my heart wander to areas that may hinder my trust, reliance, and faith in you. You are my all in all!” Amen!
1 Kings 11:4 For when Solomon was old, his wives turned away his heart after other gods; and his heart was not true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David. 5 For Solomon followed Astarte the goddess of the Sidonians, and Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not completely follow the Lord, as his father David had done. 7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem. 8 He did the same for all his foreign wives, who offered incense and sacrificed to their gods.
9 Then the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, 10 and had commanded him concerning this matter, that he should not follow other gods; but he did not observe what the Lord commanded. 11 Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this has been your mind and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and give it to your servant. 12 Yet for the sake of your father David I will not do it in your lifetime; I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 I will not, however, tear away the entire kingdom; I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”
Psalm 106:3 Happy are those who observe justice,
    who do righteousness at all times.
4 Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people;
    help me when you deliver them;
35 but they mingled with the nations
    and learned to do as they did.
36 They served their idols,
    which became a snare to them.
37 They sacrificed their sons
    and their daughters to the demons;
40 Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people,
    and he abhorred his heritage;
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