Gn 2:18-25 Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5 Mk 7:24-30

Weekly Guide for Daily Prayer The Daily Reflections

God did not just create us and then leave us. He is constantly caring for us and participating in our lives. God realized that “it is not good for the man to be alone” (Gn 2:18), so he created the union of husband and wife. He also sent Jesus and the Holy Spirit to us, so that we are never alone, and God is always with us, Emmanuel. I occasionally feel lonely and isolated, but I am relieved of this feeling when I remember how God is always with me and will never leave me because I am his creation whom he loves.

In response to God’s love, it is important for us to humble ourselves before him and to put all our faith in him as the Syrophoenician woman in today’s Gospel does. The Syrophoenician woman has complete faith that Jesus can drive the demons out of her daughter. She humbles herself before him when she asks for only the leftovers of his blessings in saying, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.”(Mk 7:28). Jesus cures her daughter because of these humble words. It is common for us to strive to be the center of attention, but Jesus shows us to do otherwise in the Gospel. In today’s Gospel, Jesus enters the district of Tyre as a sort of celebrity. Instead of calling for attention in this situation, he “wanted no one to know about it”. We should all follow this example and be modest before both God and God’s people.