Homily: August 3, 2022, Wednesday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time.

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 “With age-old love I have loved you…”

I am very touched by these words. This is what God says through prophet Jeremiah to the Israelites. And now through scripture proclamation, God is saying the same to us.

God loves us from the very beginning of time. He loves us even when humanity has sinned. He loves His creation and remains faithful even when we turn away from Him, betrayed Him and disobeyed Him. Never once did He waver in His love. God’s love is unconditional, ever faithful and never changes. He loves humanity from the past into the future. He loves us for whatever we have been and for whatever we will be.

How does this connect with today’s gospel?

In the gospel we see a Canaanite woman. In the Jewish society of that time, women had no status and Canaanites were despised, that’s why the disciples told Jesus to “send her away”. But this woman was so brave as to approach Jesus for help and persisted till she got what she wanted.

Jesus did not answer her at first and later replied in a way that seemed harsh and hurting, that He was sent to the lost sheep of Israel and that “it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs”, as if referring to her as equivalent to a dog.

It sounds humiliating, doesn’t it? Who can accept such humiliation?

A mother can. Yes, a loving mother would go through any kind of humiliation, persecution, suffering and sacrifice for the sake of her child. This Canaanite woman would do all she can to save her child from the evil one.

And the age-old love of our God is greater and stronger than the love of a mother for her child. Israel had sinned, rejected Him and worshipped other gods, but God did not stop loving. He suffered humiliation, pain and torture, persecution and sacrifice, right up to death on the cross, for the sake of His children. He would do all He could to save them from the evil one.

Believe that God will do all these for you, and your souls will be ‘healed from that hour’.

With age-old love I have loved you… with age-old love I have loved you.

Fr. Nivin Scaria 


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