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Administrator 
Very Rev. Robert J. Kantor, V.F., Administrator
frbob@stagnesnaples.org
From the Desk of Fr. Bob:
Today’s Gospel gives us an inspiring example of faith and perseverance. A Canaanite woman comes to Jesus to request a healing for her daughter. This is one of those stories in which we are surprised and even shocked at Jesus’ response. Saying that he was sent to attend to the Jews alone, Jesus says “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” Is this the loving Jesus we know? What does he mean in doing this? We see that the woman cleverly responds, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” Jesus compliments her for her faith and grants her wish and “the woman’s daughter was healed from that hour.”
The outcome is miraculous and wonderful. If it had been us in that woman’s position, would we have shown the same character and enjoyed the same outcome? What about that harsh statement from Jesus? Is it possible he was testing the depth of her faith and determination? If her request of Jesus was flighty and superficial, and if she was easily offended and showed more ego than selfless love in search for her daughter’s cure, she might well have left Jesus in a huff. Instead, after being put down, she addresses Jesus as Lord and utters an imaginative retort that must have delighted our Lord.
Each of us has requests of Jesus. Some of us persist more than others in prayer. Some people can even be very fickle about their commitment to Christ, turning away at the least hardship or inconvenience of life. It is possible that we will never see some of the outcomes that we pray for, and yet this does not change the magnificence of our awesome God and His love for us.
I recently visited a young man by the name of Nick, a star high school baseball player when I first met him a few years ago. He recently came through his third brain surgery to remove four tumors, only to have a staff infection pose a further setback to recovery. Speaking to me in a neurosciences intensive care recovery room at Tampa General Hospital, he shared that his faith has never been stronger, that he can’t wait to get home and feels called to share his testimony and bring others closer to Christ. A Catholic who attended Sunday Mass sporadically, he now looks forward to never missing a week! Known for his positive attitude and being an inspiration to others, there was nevertheless something still missing that he feels he received through his recent trials. He said that he felt something change in him. Like the Canaanite woman who endured a little jostling by God who put her to the test, Nick has hung in through circumstances that would cause some to turn their back on God and used them as an occasion to grow in faith.
May we have the same strength of faith and perseverance modeled for us by Nick and that woman who encountered Jesus two thousand years ago. We encounter Him today in the Eucharist. The new tabernacle in the Church gives us a special place to adore him. Now when we come into church, we will genuflect or make a profound bow to recognize, acknowledge and adore our Lord. Most profoundly, in taking Him in ourselves through Communion, we give Christ a home in us. May we be the best possible living, breathing tabernacle of Christ, never doubting, always faithful, persevering when necessary, loving and praising and serving the God who lives in us!
Father Bob
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