'Tis the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Wikipedia-link.
Scripture of the Week
Mass Readings—Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The Book of Isaiah, chapter fifty-six, verses one, six, & seven;
Psalm Sixty-seven, verses two & three, five, six, & eight;
The Letter to the Romans, chapter eleven, verses thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, & twenty-nine thru thirty-two;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter fifteen, verses twenty-one thru twenty-eight.
Commentary: Video reflection by Fr. Greg Friedman, O.F.M.: U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Video reflection by Jeff Cavins: Encountering the Word.
Reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):
Friends, a long tradition stresses the perseverance of the Canaanite woman we meet in today's Gospel. Augustine says that we pray in order to expand our will to accept what God is going to give us. Another reading shows how the woman exemplifies the proper attitude toward God, a combination of humility and boldness, of deference and defiance. We are creatures and God is God; nevertheless, God invites us into intimacy with him.Mass Journal: Week 34
But I want to emphasize the reading conditioned by the "other." The Old Testament speaks insistently of the "stranger, the widow, and the orphan." The ethical life, in a Biblical framework, is about the press of these people upon us. They press upon us even when we would greatly prefer them just to go away.
We the Church are the body of Christ. And so people come to us demanding food, sustenance, friendship, love, shelter, liberation. Often we are tempted to do what Jesus does initially and what the disciples do: tell them to back off. We are overloaded, busy, preoccupied. We can't be bothered.
But the whole of the Christian life consists in remembering the suffering and need of the annoying other.
Reflection by Matthew Kelly, founder of the Dynamic Catholic Institute:
The philosophy of Christ is based on discipline, & it is discipline that our modern culture abhors & has rejected with all its strength. It is true that Jesus came to comfort the afflicted, but as Dorothy Day, journalist, social activist, & Catholic convert pointed out, He also came to afflict the comfortable. The saints make many modern Catholic uncomfortble because they challenge us to throw off the spirit of the world & to embrace the Spirit of God. Like Jesus, by their example the saints invite us to a life of discipline. Contrary to public opinion, discipline doesn't stifle or restrict the human person. Discipline isn't something invented by the Church to control or manipulate the masses, nor is it a tool to make people do things they don't want to do. All these are the lies of a culture completely absorbed in a philosophy of instant gratification. Discipline is the faithful friend who will introduce you to your true self. Discipline is a worthy protector who will defend you from your lesser self. And discipline is the extraordinary mentor who will challenge you to become the-best-version-of-yourself (sic) & all God created you to be. What are your habits? Are your habits helping you become a-better-version-of-yourself (sic) or are they self-diminishing?
Otherwise, 20 August would be the festival of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Abbot & Doctor of the Church, O.Cist. (1090-1153): Doctor-link ūnus, Doctor-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.
Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:
In the year 1111, at the age of twenty, Bernard left his home to join the monastic community of Cîteaux. His five brothers, two uncles, & some thirty young friends followed him into the monastery. Within four years a dying community had recovered enough vitality to establish a new house in the nearby valley of Wormwoods, with Bernard as abbot.'Twould also be the festival of Saint Ronald of Orkney, Martyr (1103-1158, A.K.A. Rögnvald Kali Kolsson), martyred by the Viking outlaw Thorbjorn Klerk: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.
"In dangers, in doubts, in difficulties, think of Mary, call upon Mary. Let not her name depart from your lips, never suffer it to leave your heart/ And that you may more surely obtain the assistance of her prayer, neglect not to walk in her footsteps. With her for guide, you shall never go astray; while invoking her, you shall never lose heart; so long as she is in your mind, you are safe from deception; while she holds your hand, you cannot fall; under her protection you have nothing to fear; if she walks before you, you shall not grow weary; if she shows you favor, you shall reach the goal." —St. Bernard
'Twould also be the festival of Blessed Georg Häfner, Priest & Martyr (1900-1942), martyred in the reign of the Führer Adolf Hitler: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.
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