August 16th, 2020 20TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

WEEK OF AUGUST 16th, 2020 Monday, August 17

th, 2020

Ez 24:15-24; Mt 19:16-22

7:00 p.m. Mass – Intentions of: M.J. Tribe; Repose of the Souls

of: Jose Cordoso & Peppinella

Tuesday, August 18

th, 2020

Ez 28:1-10; Mt 19:23-30

7:00 p.m. Mass – Repose of the Souls of: William & Helen Yanchus

Wednesday, August 19

th, 2020

Ez 34:1-11; Mt 20:1-16

9:00 a.m. Mass - Repose of the Soul of: Agostinho Rocha &

Alejandra Pobre 9:30-10:30 a.m. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament

Thursday, August 20

th, 2020

Ez 36:23-28; Mt 22:1-14

9:00 a.m. Mass –Repose of the Souls of: Ubaldo Desouza, Peggy

Fernandes Xavier & John Fernandes

Friday, August 21

st, 2020

Ez 37:1-14; Mt 22:34-40

9:00 a.m. Mass - Intentions of: Sharon Byrne; Repose of the Soul

of: Wanda Fabris

21st SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Saturday, August 22nd

, 2020 5:00 p.m. Intentions of our Parishioners & Benefactors Sunday, August 23

rd, 2020

Is 22:19-23; Rom 11:33-36; Mt 16:13-20

9:00 a.m. Intentions of our Parishioners & Benefactors

11:00 a.m. Intentions of our Parishioners & Benefactors

HEALTH PROTOCOLS: PLEASE STAY HOME, if you experience Elevated

Temperatures, Fever, Cough, and Headache or feel unwell. WEAR A

MASK! Please bring your own. You must wear a Mask in order to Receive

Communion! Masks are available at a donation of $2.00. SANITIZE your hands

frequently on entering and exiting the Church; PHYSICAL DISTANCE AT

ALL TIMES – Keep 6 FEET from your fellow parishioner; AVOID

TOUCHING YOUR FACE AND TOUCHING SURFACES WITH

YOUR HANDS (Use your Elbows for Prayer); Use the WASHROOM only if an

Emergency. Wash your Hands. One person allowed in washrooms at a time.

WATER FOUNTAINS AND HOLY WATER FONTS are out of

service.

TO CONTINUE THE CLEANING PROTOCOL IN THE WEEKS AHEAD, WE ARE IN NEED OF ADDITIONAL VOLUNTEERS TO HELP CLEAN-ESPECIALLY AFTER THE 9:00 A.M. SUNDAY MASS. The cleaning process is

light (no heavy cleaning), quick and efficient. We use professional Industrial Cleaning Solutions. If you can help, please contact the Parish Office.

VOCATION VIEW: “It takes faith to hear God’s call in our lives and sometimes it may not be what we expect. Is God calling you to life as priest? Contact Fr. Michael King, Vocation Director, 905-528-7988; vocations@hamiltondiocese.com; www.hamiltondiocese.com

PLEASE FINANCIALLY SUPPORT MARY MOTHER OF GOD PARISH DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. Offertory Baskets are available in the church on entering and exiting if you wish to drop your donation. Other options for offerings are posted on our website under ‘CHARITABLE GIVING’. Thank you.

WELCOME BACK! Dear Parishioners, it is a joy to be with you

once again as a faith community and to receive our Lord in Holy Communion. The Provincial Government has directed a maximum of 30% occupancy. For our parish that represents approx. 250-300 people per mass. Entrance to the parish is first come first serve. Once our maximum number is reached, OUR DOORS MUST CLOSE. We have approx. 140-175 parishioners in attendance at our Saturday and Sunday masses since our doors opened.

MASS & RECONCILIATION SCHEDULE & ADORATION Our Mass Schedule returns to normal, pre pandemic. For those who are elderly or whose immune system is compromised, and those who are hesitant to return to church at this time, know that the obligation to participate in Sunday mass is

suspended until further notice, as directed by Bishop Crosby. PLEASE

CONSIDER COMING TO ONE OF OUR WEEKDAY MASSES

INSTEAD OF SUNDAY MASS. The numbers are smaller (35-50). THE

SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION takes place on Saturday’s

beginning at 3:45 p.m. Our Clergy are also available following weekday morning masses for confession. Please line up by the confessional and MAINTAIN SOCIAL

DISTANCING. ADORATION OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT takes

place on Wednesday - 9:30 am to 10:30 A.M.

CHURCH AND OFFICE HOURS – PERSONAL PRAYER

The Church Building will be open Monday to Friday 8:30 to 2:00 p.m. for

Personal Prayer.

The Parish Office is open by Appointment Only. Staff will be available after 9 am

morning mass Wed-Fri from the glass reception door. We encourage you to

communicate with the parish, including the purchase of mass intentions and

cards over the phone or by e-mail. Please leave a message and we will return

your call by the next business ay. Donations or payments can also be completed

over the phone manually using a credit card or on-line through our website

www.mmogp.ca and CanadaHelps.Org.

August 16th, 2020 20TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

GOSPEL REFLECTION – 20th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY- AUG. 16th, 2020 (Mt.15:21-28)

Today’s Gospel passage is a story of a desperate Canaanite woman going all out to meet God and find solution to her life prob lem. She thought the best way she could do it was by meeting Jesus. The only resource she has with her is her faith. What follows is her dramatic encounter with Jesus. If you are reading this passage for the first time, at one stage you would feel that Jesus is so mean. But the negative feelings change for the positive as you reach the end. Moreover, if you can open the eyes of your faith, you may carry home a wonderful God experience.

The location is Tyre and Sidon, a gentile territory. Jesus went there on His own. He must have had a specific plan in His mind. His plan unfolds as we go into a reflective meditation after reading the story. The first stage of the story is the Canaanite woman appearing from nowhere and shouting at the top of her voice, ‘Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David. My daughter is tormented by a demon.’ (Mt.15:22)

Son of David refers to Messiah, the expected saviour of Israel. She knows and believes that Jesus is the messiah, the anointed one, Son of God. She is nonstop. She goes on shouting. She doesn’t call the Lord Jesus, but she calls ‘Lord’, and ‘Son of David’. She has a firm faith that she would get an answer.

The reply from Jesus is unexpected. He pretends as if He hasn’t even heard the nonstop shouting of a woman at the top of her voice. He said not a word in answer to her. (Mt.15:23a) How can the compassionate, the merciful, the kind, the empathetic, considerate, and benevolent Son of God ever continue His journey as if He did not even hear this painful cry of a woman? This is unheard of Jesus. The disciples get shocked. Moreover, they find this shouting of a woman need to be addressed. The disciples feel sympathy but not Jesus. Strange, isn’t it? Do you feel angry towards the Lord? The second stage of the story is the intervention of the disciples.

They came and pleaded with Him saying, ‘Give her what she wants for she keeps shouting after us.’ (Mt.15: 23b) Now comes the first reply from the Lord. ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’(Mt.15:24) Jesus says something that goes against the fact that He is the saviour of the whole mankind, not just one particular sect or group. Why did Jesus say a factual error?

In fact, Jesus is in a way right in what He said, because the Jewish understanding of the messiah is that he would come to bring back all the lost members of the community of Israel. But the truth is that Jesus is the saviour of the whole mankind. Maya be Jesus wanted to identify himself to the ‘promised messiah’. May be Jesus wanted to bring the strong faith of this gentile woman out as an example before the disciples as something greater than the faith of the people of Israel. But it must have been disappointing to the woman.

If you and I were in the place of this woman, we would feel annoyed or disappointed and may be angry and leave the Lord and go away, may be cursing Him. But the woman is unique, and her faith is extraordinary. She comes to the scene. All this while she was in the background with only her voice heard.

There comes the third stage of the story. The woman comes forward and bows down before Jesus. In some version she adores Jesus or pays homage. She seems to acknowledge the fact that the one whom she approaches is capable of changing the fate of her life. She is determined and is absolutely sure that Son of David would not abandon her. So, she kneels down before Him and prays, ‘Lord, help me.’ (Mt.15:25) The shortest of all prayers we find in the gospels.

Now we would think that the Lord would be pleased and listen to her and console her or take care of her and send her happily home. But what happened is just the contrary. Jesus said, ‘It is not fair to take the bread of the children and throw it to the dogs.’ (Mt.15:26)

Everyone present would have got the shock of their lives. They might have felt so bad and thought how a man like Jesus could say

August 16th, 2020 20TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

words of this kind. The background of Jesus’s using ‘dog’ is that the Jews called the gentiles ‘dog’ and themselves ‘children’. The woman knew the meaning and the disciples knew the meaning. It was so profane to the woman. If you and I were in her place we would have reacted sharply at this commend made by Jesus and responded to the words of Jesus in a similar way and might end all our pleadings and would have gone home, because we consider our ego as something important for us.

Surprisingly, this woman did not feel humiliated. She rather reacted to Jesus in the most unexpected manner. She said, ‘Yes, Lord, even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the master’s table.’ This was more surprising than the words of Jesus. What she meant is that she did not expect the main meal or food on the table set for the children. She feels satisfied with the scraps that fall from the food set on the table for the children. In fact, the dogs in olden days were considered unclean animal that ate the food waste thrown out from the house. She is happy with whatever little that she would get from God the owner of life. She is willing to completely abide by what God plans for her. But she needs to be helped. She has been desperate being unable to connect to God. She used to follow the pagan worship which did not satisfy her spiritual thirst. Her religion was not helpful to her in solving her life problems. She longs to find the one who gave her life. She would like to receive light from the true light and be enlightened. She longs to put her trust in the Lord and Master of her life. She firmly believes that Lord Jesus is the one who can find solution to all problems in her life.

That one answer from the woman completely changed the whole scenario. This is a glorious example for all of us as to how strong should our faith be.

The whole situation changed dramatically and totally. Jesus has His plan completed and got done what He planned. Suddenly came the reply from Jesus

There we have the last stage of the story. ‘Woman, great is your faith. Let your desire be granted.’ (Mt.15:28a) And the evangelist ends the episode with the commend that her daughter was cured instantly.

I think Jesus must have spent much more time with this woman. But the evangelist makes his narration short and to the point, ends his episode and goes to the next leaving the rest to the reader to meditate and conclude. Jesus must have praised her faith and revealed Himself as the owner of her life. He must have granted her with peace of mind and joy in her heart. Her faith must have been a beacon light for many.

This is the kind of faith God expects from each one of us. We need to think of the Canaanite woman when we come across such experiences in our prayer life and our spiritual journey, especially at moments when we feel that God does is not concerned about our problems and worries. God is silent to our heart-breaking pleas.

The fact is that God has a plan. We have to persevere and be faithful in our prayer never giving up. Finally, God would make us instrument for others to be inspired. Let us pray unceasingly and never leave the image of the Canaanite woman from our heart.

Fr. Issac Tharayi CMI

August 16th, 2020 20TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

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