Search

Read after the Gospel of the mass on Friday of the forth week in the Holy lent

Read after the Gospel of the mass on Friday of the forth week in the Holy lent.

It urges the exhortations to steadfastness in the faith and no hesitation. It is based on the healing of the Canaan woman's daughter by our Lord: "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. (Mark12:17).

Our lord, glory be to him, was teaching the Pharisees and scribes to follow God's commandants & not break it because of their traditions. But they didn't accept what he said. He went to borders of Tyra and Sidon as the Evangelist Mark says: “And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyra and Sidon, and entered into a house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid. (Mark7:24)It seems he wasn't intending to preach there, but to do well to the Canaan woman .But even with his retirement, the masses heard about his arrival. The Canaan woman came & shouted:" Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David”. My daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. He didn't answer her by a word to force her to repeat her request. Thus he would show her faith & virtue to the mass which might doubt because the woman was Greek, a Syrophenician by nation (Mark7:26) His disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. He was pretending not to listen to the Canaan woman to reveal her faith & virtue. He was rebuking the Jews who claimed they believed in God, yet they don't believe what God said about Jesus Christ by his prophets. The woman came and fell at his feet saying: “Lord, help me."But Jesus said unto her, for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs “And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs”. Our beloved, watch the strength of the Canaan's faith. She wasn't shaken by our lord's words to his disciples” I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel”. Nor his saying" It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs". Her faith didn't weaken, on the contrary, it became stronger. She didn't leave angrily from the insult & contempt that she was like the dogs. She decorated her faith by prostrating to the Great Lord, despite being internationalist in the eyes of the present Jews. She answered the Lord with an answer full of wisdom & firm faith saying: “yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs”. This woman by her humbleness & prostration proved to all the present how she knew Jesus Christ as the Savoir.By her heat of urgency she showed her faith in him. By her strong firmness & wise answer, she deserved when Jesus told her:" O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. “Or as the Evangelist Mark wrote: “For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter."(Mark7:29). How great is the strength of stability, especially in the faith in God!!!!!If the Canaan woman wasn't that faithful, she wouldn't get what she wanted. Thus the stability is a necessity to human in virtuous works especially in faith without which you cannot please God (Hebrews 11: 6). Our beloved, we are between 2 opposing forces. Power of religion and the power of the world. The strength of religion, ordering us to follow him faithfully& fully to set us forth from ill fate of sin and the necessity of leaving it and stay away from the world, to compensate with the greatest multiplies in eternity. The strength of the world, it shows us the temporary rejoicing pleasures, on condition that they ignore the religion & indifference to its punishment & rewards. I speak to those who accept such case. I ask them what they want and hope if they are deprived of consistency in religion.You ignore his orders to all prohibitions, you fast today & the next day eat greedily.You get drunk till you lose consciousness. You pray a day & stop in the next day. Today you cling to chastity and purity. Tomorrow you are proud of immorality and prostitution. You are ruthless to the poor for a day, in the next day you turn away your face to them. What do you want, then? Have you not known the words of the Apostle: “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance? But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelled righteousness. (2Peter3:9-15).Some of you may ask: Why? I answer: The impartiality of the virtue of fortitude or weakness is determined to do more than that in man. Because of human sin is surrounded from all sides. Wherever man walked and where to stop finding reasons to sin. Whatever he faces or hears about his eyesight find reasons for sin. And the whole thing all the work and all are surrounded by the reasons for sins. If someone asks, then how can we be saved? I say by upholding to the virtue of consistency in faith and good deeds. Because when the man is constant in faith, No tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword .Neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor present things, nor receptor nor any other creature estimates that shakes us from his love and our struggle for the sake of virtue (Rom. 8:35, 38).Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. (Rom.8:37). For example, the righteous Job when he was in his happy days, he was perfect,straight,obeying & fearing God & eschewed evil. In his misery days, he stayed in his perfection and integrity and piety. He lost all his money & sons at the same time. When they told him such news he fell & worshiped God saying: “Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD."(Job1:1-21).When he was infected with sore boils, his wife told him are you still holding to your integrity, curse God & die. He answered her:"Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? Shall we receive well at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? (Job2:7-10).The bible says:" In all this did not Job sin with his lips." I am sure the story of Job is enough to convince your else I would mention Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, the rest of the prophets, saints and martyrs who were firm to defend their Faith and the Bible says about them they are: “They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.(Heb11:37-38).Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling place; And labor, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it:labor.Being defamed, we entreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the off scouring of all things unto this day. (1Cor.4:11-14) However, they deny their hatred to the men of God, & the righteous struggle for him. They say they were elected by the grace of God, & so they firmed in their faith obligatory. This is the excuse given by the religion hesitates & it is false because those were human beings like us. They had their shortcomings, passions and experiments. They were selected, as we are. Because our Lord glory be to him said: “but I have chosen you out of the world,"(John15:19) for All believers & not them alone (John17:20).Then, our way is walk with God & ask for God's help because "There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. (Romans3:11).let's work hard to make our faith& the choice of God yon us firm & steady by God works (2Peter1:10).We should always ask for the heavenly help with reverence, refractive & fixed hope. We should never forget that we can't serve two masters (Matt.6:46).God doesn't accept a partner with him. To him be the glory forever. Amen.