Thursday 5th week in ordinary time
"Mk 7:24-30"
And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house, and would not have any one know it; yet he could not be hid. But immediately a woman, whose little daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell down at his feet. Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoeni′cian by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. And he said to her, "Let the children first be fed, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." But she answered him, "Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." And he said to her, "For this saying you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter." And she went home, and found the child lying in bed, and the demon gone.
St Josemaria once said that the problem we face today is that "few people pray, and those who pray… pray little." The world needs more and more Christians who 'believe' in the power of prayer. We could say that people don't know how to pray. The woman of the Gospel teaches us that prayer, to be effective, "ought to be humble, fervent, resigned, persevering, and accompanied with great reverence. One should consider that he stands in the presence of a God, and speaks with a Lord before whom the angels tremble from awe and fear." (St Mary Magdalen de Pazzi)
Children can teach us. A parish priest decided to have a 24-hour vigil every Friday. To this purpose he left out a timetable for Adoration so that parishioners could sign up to take turns. When the timetable was complete, he discovered that a First Holy Communion boy had chosen the slot between 3 and 4am! He called the parents and found out that they had agreed to it. The boy told the priest that he wanted Jesus to 'heal his family'. His dad was an alcoholic, unemployed and violent at times. On the first Friday, his mum woke him up and brought him to the church and stayed with him. On the second Friday it was his dad's turn. He took the child to the church but waited for him outside. However, after a few weeks the dad started waiting 'inside'. Little by little the father started praying with the child during those vigils. In less than three months Jesus healed the family: dad stopped drinking, found a job and became a new man. When the priest saw what had happened he went to congratulate the boy for his perseverance. "Congratulations," said the priest, "Jesus has done it!" The boy was surprised at the priest's words. "Of course," he replied. "Did you ever doubt it?" The priest never forgot the lesson in faith given by an 8-year-old. How is my faith when I pray? Mary, Mother Most Faithful, teach me to pray.
