“Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David – Matthew 15:22
Each of the readings for this Sunday talk about unity, the coming together of different people from various places, all oriented toward the Lord. Isaiah writes the prophecy of all nations being united in the Lord: “my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples” (Isaiah 56:7). In the Responsorial Psalm we cry out, “O God, let all the nations praise you!” (67:4). In the second reading, St. Paul writes of his mission to the Gentiles, once far off from the Jewish people and belief in God and the mercy that God has shown all people (Romans 11:32). In our Gospel reading, a Canaanite woman approached Jesus, asking for healing for her daughter. She cries out to Jesus as “Lord, Son of David” (Matthew 15:22). She expressed her true belief in who Jesus was and how He could help her even though she was not one of the Jewish flock. She cried out in faith for His mercy for her child.
It is the duty of the Church to witness to Christ ad gentes—to the nations, all people. It’s our missionary task and responsibility to both the Gospel and the world: “Missions is the term usually given to those particular undertakings by which the heralds of the Gospel, sent out by the Church and going forth into the whole world, carry out the task of preaching the Gospel and planting the Church among peoples or groups who do not yet believe in Christ. These undertakings are brought to completion by missionary activity…The proper purpose of this missionary activity is evangelization, and the planting of the Church among those peoples and groups where it has not yet taken root” (Ad Gentes: On the Missionary Activity of the Church, 6).
Perhaps our greatest mission today, the heart of the new evangelization, is to proclaim the Good News of how Jesus has worked in our own lives not only “where it has not yet taken root” but especially to those where the love of Christ once had taken root but has since withered. Who do you know who has fallen away from Jesus and His Church? How is God calling you to rekindle the fire of His love for them? For whom can you cry out to God for mercy?
Jesus, in Your mercy, please bring back all who have fallen away from Your love and the faith.