THE PAGAN WOMAN

Prayer before Mass: Almighty and ever-living God, I approach the sacrament of Your only-begotten Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. I come sick to the doctor of life, unclean to the fountain of mercy, blind to the radiance of eternal light, and poor and needy to the Lord of heaven and earth. Lord, in Your great generosity, heal my sickness, wash away my defilement, enlighten my blindness, enrich my poverty, and clothe my nakedness. May I receive the Bread of Angels, the King of kings and Lord of lords, with humble reverence, with the purity and faith, the repentance and love, and the determined purpose that will help  to bring me to salvation. 

May I receive the sacrament of the Lord’s Body and Blood, and its reality and power. Kind God, may I receive the Body of Your only-begotten Son, our Lord

Jesus Christ, born from the womb of the Virgin Mary, and so be received into His mystical body and numbered among His members.

Loving Father, as on my earthly pilgrimage I now receive Your beloved Son under the veil of a  sacrament, may I one day see Him face to face in glory, who lives and reigns with You forever. Amen. By Knights of the Holy Eucharist.  Readings Lectures  Reflection Our Lady of Lourdes

First Reading 

Man and wife become one body

The Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone. I will make him a helpmate.’ So from the soil the Lord God fashioned all the wild beasts and all the birds of heaven. These he brought to the man to see what he would call them; each one was to bear the name the man would give it. The man gave names to all the cattle, all the birds of heaven and all the wild beasts. But no helpmate suitable for man was found for him. So the Lord God made the man fall into a deep sleep. And while he slept, he took one of his ribs and enclosed it in flesh. The Lord God built the rib he had taken from the man into a woman, and brought her to the man. The man exclaimed:

‘This at last is bone from my bones,

and flesh from my flesh!

This is to be called woman,

for this was taken from man.’

This is why a man leaves his father and mother and joins himself to his wife, and they become one body. 

Now both of them were naked, the man and his wife, but they felt no shame in front of each other.

Responsorial Psalm
O blessed are those who fear the Lord

Gospel

The astuteness of the Syro-Phoenecian woman

Jesus left Gennesaret and set out for the territory of Tyre. There he went into a house and did not want anyone to know he was there, but he could not pass unrecognised. A woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him straightaway and came and fell at his feet. Now the woman was a pagan, by birth a Syrophoenician, and she begged him to cast the devil out of her daughter. And he said to her, ‘The children should be fed first, because it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the house-dogs.’ But she spoke up: ‘Ah yes, sir,’ she replied ‘but the house-dogs under the table can eat the children’s scraps.’ And he said to her, ‘For saying this, you may go home happy: the devil has gone out of your daughter.’ So she went off to her home and found the child lying on the bed and the devil gone. Beautiful Saviour

Holy Father, Lord God creator of heaven and earth, how many are your wonders. In wisdom you created all things. You gave man wisdom and authority over all created things. The origin of names of all created things came from man. How great is your name O Lord. Father thank you for your love and care over all your creatures. 

Father how humanity became possessed by unclean spirit, is the choice of your creatures. Children are not exempted from being possessed by unclean spirit. We beg you Lord Jesus Christ to deliver us from being possessed, deliver our children, deliver all families from the raving anger of negative forces in our world.

Father any action of your creatures not in conformity with your divine plan for humanity is unclean. Thank you Father for your Son Jesus Christ, for all power and authority you gave to Him. In His name every kneel must bow, in His name we are victorious. 

My faith is weak, increase my faith like the woman in today's gospel, to understand that you are not silent to my prayer, to my plea, to my request. Help me understand that my challenge in life, is my persistent to prayer and my protection.  Increase my faith Lord, may I hold on to you Lord Jesus even when it seems you are silent to my plea.

Lord Jesus Christ thank you for your Blessed Mother, the Virgin Mary our Mother.  Heavenly Father thank you  for our mothers, for their sacrifices. Thank you Jesus for I place  my trust  in you.