Catechism Links
CCC 543-544: Kingdom first to Israel, now for all who believe
CCC 674: Christ’s coming hope of Israel; their final acceptance of Messiah
CCC 2610: Power of invocation with sincere faith
CCC 831, 849: The catholicity of the Church
CCC Cross Reference:
Rom 11:13-26 755; Rom 11:25 591, 674; Rom 11:26 674; Rom 11:28 60; Rom 11:29 839; Rom 11:31 674; Rom 11:32 1870
Mt 15:22 439, 448; Mt 15:28 2610
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Reading 1
Is 56:1, 6-7
Thus says the Lord:
Observe what is right, do what is just;
for my salvation is about to come,
my justice, about to be revealed.
The foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
ministering to him,
loving the name of the Lord,
and becoming his servants—
all who keep the sabbath free from profanation
and hold to my covenant,
them I will bring to my holy mountain
and make joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and sacrifices
will be acceptable on my altar,
for my house shall be called
a house of prayer for all peoples.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8
R. (4) O God, let all the nations praise you!
May God have pity on us and bless us;
may he let his face shine upon us.
So may your way be known upon earth;
among all nations, your salvation.
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
May the nations be glad and exult
because you rule the peoples in equity;
the nations on the earth you guide.
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you!
May God bless us,
and may all the ends of the earth fear him!
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
Reading II
Rom 11:13-15, 29-32
Brothers and sisters:
I am speaking to you Gentiles.
Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles,
I glory in my ministry in order to make my race jealous
and thus save some of them.
For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world,
what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?
For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.
Just as you once disobeyed God
but have now received mercy because of their disobedience,
so they have now disobeyed in order that,
by virtue of the mercy shown to you,
they too may now receive mercy.
For God delivered all to disobedience,
that he might have mercy upon all.
Gospel
Mt 15:21-28
At that time, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out,
“Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David!
My daughter is tormented by a demon.”
But Jesus did not say a word in answer to her.
Jesus’ disciples came and asked him,
“Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.”
He said in reply,
“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
But the woman came and did Jesus homage, saying, “Lord, help me.”
He said in reply,
“It is not right to take the food of the children
and throw it to the dogs.”
She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps
that fall from the table of their masters.”
Then Jesus said to her in reply,
“O woman, great is your faith!
Let it be done for you as you wish.”
And the woman’s daughter was healed from that hour.
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
First reading Isaiah 56:1 – 7
Thus says the Lord: Have a care for justice, act with integrity, for soon my salvation will come and my integrity be manifest.
Foreigners who have attached themselves to the Lord to serve him and to love his name and be his servants – all who observe the sabbath, not profaning it, and cling to my covenant – these I will bring to my holy mountain. I will make them joyful in my house of prayer. Their holocausts and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar, for my house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 66(67):2-3,5-6,8
Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.
O God, be gracious and bless us
and let your face shed its light upon us.
So will your ways be known upon earth
and all nations learn your saving help.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.
Let the nations be glad and exult
for you rule the world with justice.
With fairness you rule the peoples,
you guide the nations on earth.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
May God still give us his blessing
till the ends of the earth revere him.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.
Second reading Romans 11:13 – 32
Let me tell you pagans this: I have been sent to the pagans as their apostle, and I am proud of being sent, but the purpose of it is to make my own people envious of you, and in this way save some of them. Since their rejection meant the reconciliation of the world, do you know what their admission will mean? Nothing less than a resurrection from the dead!
God never takes back his gifts or revokes his choice.
Just as you changed from being disobedient to God, and now enjoy mercy because of their disobedience, so those who are disobedient now – and only because of the mercy shown to you – will also enjoy mercy eventually. God has imprisoned all men in their own disobedience only to show mercy to all mankind.
Gospel Matthew 15:21 – 28
Jesus left that place and withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. Then out came a Canaanite woman from that district and started shouting, ‘Sir, Son of David, take pity on me. My daughter is tormented by a devil.’ But he answered her not a word. And his disciples went and pleaded with him. ‘Give her what she wants,’ they said ‘because she is shouting after us.’ He said in reply, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.’ But the woman had come up and was kneeling at his feet. ‘Lord,’ she said ‘help me.’ He replied, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the house-dogs.’ She retorted, ‘Ah yes, sir; but even house-dogs can eat the scraps that fall from their master’s table.’ Then Jesus answered her, ‘Woman, you have great faith. Let your wish be granted.’ And from that moment her daughter was well again.
Readings and Commentary from the Navarre Bible
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
From: Isaiah 56:1, 6-7
Worship Open to All
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[1] Thus says the Lord: “Keep justice, and do righteousness, for soon my salvation will come.
[6] ”And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,and to be his servants, every one who keeps the sabbath, and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant -- [7] these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.
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Commentary:
56:1-66:24. These chapters make up the third part of the book of Isaiah, sometimes called “Third Isaiah”. It consists of prophetic visions and oracles about the new Zion and the nations of the earth. The variety of style and content here makes it difficult to identify any clear structure: the sacred writer seems to have drawn these oracles together, apparently content that they are all to do with the End and all refer to the whole world and not just to Israel. But he has carefully positioned chapter 61 in the middle, making it the high-point of these chapters. Also, 56:1-8 and 66:18-24, which stress the universality of justice and worship, are very appropriately positioned at start and finish. To make this part easier to read, we have divided it into three sections in this edition. The first (56:1-59:21) is a series of oracles that show salvation being extended to all mankind, even though the sins of the people of God will cause delays. In the second (60:1-64:11), the salvation that the Lord will provide is proclaimed to all the nations from Jerusalem. And the third section (65:1-66:24) has as its theme the judgment of God, handed down to each according to his or her merits, be it punishment for sin, or salvation.
Historically, the oracles have to do with the years following the return from exile after Cyrus issued his decree of repatriation (539 BC). It was for Judah a time for “beginning again”. God sent messages of hope to raise the Jews’ spirits during their years in exile and on their return, when they were confronted by a scene of devastation. They cannot fail to see that, from now on, peace and salvation are linked with a return to God, conversion, the practice of righteousness, and holiness.
This means that the horizon of divine salvation extends to include the whole world, extending beyond the narrow limits of Jewish nationalism. When the prophetic texts speak of Zion, they see it as the center of a new view of mankind, as a source of light for all nations. The new Jerusalem stands for a new order, as it will in the Revelation to John. Although all the energies of repatriates are focused on the rebuilding of the temple (60:7-13), the message here is that the ultimate goal is not material reconstruction, for the throne of God is to be found in heaven, and the earth is only his footstool (66:1-2). Hope in a glorious future is not measured in terms of external institutions--in the monarchy (which does not exist), or in any other human authority, or in force of arms. Even divine worship, and the rules and regulations to do with fasting and sacrifices, will be cleansed of the old formalism (58:1-14). God will act directly to save his people (62:2-12). The new horizon opened up by “Third Isaiah” has its parallel in Haggai and Zechariah, and, above all, it prepares the way for the still-distant eschatological vision found in the Revelation to John.
56:1-59:21. The new section looks forward to a salvation that is open to everyone who practises righteousness (56: 1-12). However, the first announcement of this is put on hold, as it were, due to the sins of the people of God; these delay the manifestation of God’s salvific power, for he refuses to hearken to the prayers of the ungodly (57:1-21). Therefore, first and foremost, the prophet issues a call to conversion (58: 1-14), while promising that the Lord, who is faithful to his Covenant, will reward people according to their actions: he will punish those who are faithless and redeem those who return to him (59:1-21).
56:1-8. In the restored Jerusalem, the temple will begin to open its doors to all peoples. What we were told at the start of the book (cf. 2:2-5) would happen “in the latter days” is beginning to happen: the temple of the Lord will be a house of prayer for those who previously could not enter it; it will be open to all peoples. The old rulings (Lev 22:25; Deut 23:2-9) did not permit eunuchs or foreigners to take part in the assembly of Israel (a similar approach is found in Ezra 9:1-12 and Nehemiah 9:1-2); but this oracle displays a much more open and universalist attitude (cf. V/is 3:14):there is no objection to eunuchs and foreigners provided that they observe the sabbath and the Covenant (cf. vv. 2, 4,6) Blood ties are no longer the criteria for membership of the community of the people of God now it suffices that a person keep to the moral teaching laid down in the old Covenant, and worship the true God.
The mission of the temple, rebuilt by the exiles after their return with its open invitation to all without exception to come and worship God as part of his people, will reach its fullness in the redemption wrought by Christ Jesus.When he cleanses the temple (Mt 21:12-13 and par.), appealing to the words of v. 6 (along with Jeremiah 7:11; cf. note on same), this prophecy will be fulfilled.
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From: Romans 11:13-15, 29-32
The New Chosen People
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[13] Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry [14] in order to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. [15] For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?
The Conversion of the Jews (Continuation)
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[29] For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable. [30] Just as you were once disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, [31] so they have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they may also receive mercy. [32] For God has consigned all men to disobedience, that he may have mercy upon all.
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Commentary:
25-32. We all yearn for the fulfillment of these words--threatening yet consoling --which Christ addressed to the scribes and Pharisees: "For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord"' (Mt 23:39). "Together with the prophets and the Apostle, the Church awaits the day, known to God alone, when all peoples will call on God with one voice and 'serve him with one accord' (Zeph 3:9)" (Vatican II, "Nostra Aetate", 4). The conversion of the Jews is a secret -- a mystery, the text says (v. 25) -- hidden in the future, which will come about when the Incarnation of the Word achieves its ultimate purpose.
This conversion will follow on that of the Gentiles, which will be as it were a prelude to it. Jesus has foretold that "Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled" (Lk 21:24; cf. note on same), which in some way suggests that the Jews will be converted at the end of time.
However, when the Church in its preaching touches on the main signs of the end of the world, it only refers to the proclamation of the Gospel throughout the world, to apostasy and to the Antichrist, but it has nothing to say about the conversion of the Jews (cf. "St Pius V Catechism", I, 8, 7). What the Church does do, and what we should do, is to pray the Lord to listen to its prayers "that the people you first made your own may arrive at the fullness of redemption" ("Roman Missal", Good Friday Liturgy, Prayer of the Faithful).
"The same thing is happening, St Paul explains, now that the Gospel is being preached. The people of Israel in general are not accepting it and are not becoming part of the Church; only a small number of Jews have believed, and these are the "remnant.' of Israel, chosen by God so that in them the promises might be kept. The conversion of Paul himself is an example and an earnest of this return of the people of Israel to their God, in line with the invitation that Hosea addressed to them: "Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity" (Hos 14:2).
Throughout the history of the Church lapses of this type have occurred, with a consequent breakdown in morality. Whenever this happens, those Christians who stay true to the faith may, like Elijah, feel inclined to despair; but they should react with a realistic and vigilant optimism and not indulge in useless lamentation. In the presence of God, they should reflect on the fact that God actually wants to use them and their holy lives to turn the situation around: "A secret, an open secret: these world crises are sanctity crises. God wants a handful of men 'of his own' in every human activity. And then...'"pax Christi in regno Christi"--the peace of Christ in the kingdom of Christ" (St. J. Escriva, The Way, 301).
29. God never goes back on anything he promises; therefore he continues to call the Jews to enter the chosen people. He does not take account of their disobedience or their sins: he will love them with an everlasting love, as he promised the patriarchs and in line with the merits accruing to them for their fidelity (cf. Rom 9: 4-5). It is this very immutability of God's love that makes it possible for all Israel" (v. 26) to be saved. God's calling, which is eternal, cannot cease; but we for our part can reject his call. The immutability of God's plan is reassuring to us: it means that even if we abandon him at any point, we can always return to our earlier fidelity: he is still there, waiting for us.
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From: Matthew 15:21-28
The Canaanite Woman
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[21] And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. [22] And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and cried, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely possessed by a demon." [23] But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and begged Him, saying, "Send her away, for she is crying after us." [24] He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." [25] But she came and knelt before Him, saying, "Lord, help me." [26] And He answered, "It is not fair to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." [27] She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table." [28] Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed instantly.
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Commentary:
21-22. Tyre and Sidon were Phoenician cities on the Mediterranean coast, in present-day Lebanon. They were never part of Galilee but they were near its north-eastern border. In Jesus' time they were outside the territory of Herod Antipas. Jesus withdrew to this area to escape persecution from Herod and from the Jewish authorities and to concentrate on training His Apostles.
Most of the inhabitants of the district of Tyre and Sidon were pagans. St. Matthew calls this woman a "Canaanite"; according to Genesis (10:15), this district was one of the first to be settled by the Canaanites; St. Mark describes the woman as a "Syrophoenician" (Mark 7:26). Both Gospels point out that she is a pagan, which means that her faith in our Lord is more remarkable; the same applies in the case of the centurion (Matthew 8:5-13).
The Canaanite woman's prayer is quite perfect: she recognizes Jesus as the Messiah (the Son of David)--which contrasts with the unbelief of the Jews; she expresses her need in clear, simple words; she persists, undismayed by obstacles; and she expresses her request in all humility: "Have mercy on me." Our prayer should have the same qualities of faith, trust, perseverance and humility.
24. What Jesus says here does not take from the universal reference of His teaching (cf. Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15-16). Our Lord came to bring His Gospel to the whole world, but He Himself addressed only the Jews; later on He will charge His Apostles to preach the Gospel to pagans. St. Paul, in his missionary journeys, also adopted the policy of preaching in the first instance to the Jews (Acts 13:46).
25-28. This dialogue between Jesus and the woman is especially beautiful. By appearing to be harsh He so strengthens the woman's faith that she deserves exceptional praise: "Great is your faith!" Our own conversation with Christ should be like that: "Persevere in prayer. Persevere, even when your efforts seem barren. Prayer is always fruitful" (St. J. Escriva, "The Way", 101).
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.
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