- 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
St Stephen of Hungary and St Rock
Readings: Isaiah 56:1, 6–7; Psalm 67:2–3, 5, 6, 8; Romans 11:13–15, 29–32; Matthew 15:21–28Today’s readings open our hearts to the universality of God's love and show how faith changes every perspective. Isaiah begins with a concrete demand: “Maintain justice and do what is right.” Our relationship with God must transform the way we see and treat others, especially those whom society considers outsiders. The prophet then announces that God's house will become “a house of prayer for all peoples,” while the Psalm envisions all nations praising God together. Saint Paul takes us even deeper into this mystery: human disobedience cannot defeat God's saving plan, for He desires to “show mercy to all.” The Gospel gives this universal mercy a human face in the encounter between Jesus and the Canaanite woman. From a purely human perspective, she is an outsider with little reason to expect anything; from the perspective of faith, however, everything changes. She refuses to allow rejection, silence, or apparent impossibility to define her situation. She sees beyond them to the mercy of Jesus and perseveres until she hears, “Woman, you have great faith. Let your wish be granted.” Faith changes our perspective because it teaches us to see ourselves, others, our difficulties, and even apparently closed doors from God's point of view. It breaks down the boundaries created by prejudice, fear, and hopelessness and opens us to the God whose justice embraces every nation and whose mercy reaches every person. When faith shapes our vision, no one remains merely an outsider, no situation is completely hopeless, and no obstacle is greater than the mercy of God. Let’s reflect: Does my faith truly change the way I see people and difficult situations, enabling me to look beyond human limitations and trust in the justice, universality, and boundless mercy of God?
Don Giorgio