In 1968, my father died of liver cancer after exhausting the family savings due to hospital bills. He left my mom with six young children to feed and raise. We were not poor, but my parents were ordinary meat vendors in Quiapo.

Life often brings us to moments of despair, where we feel insignificant or beyond hope. The Syrophoenician woman approached Jesus for the healing of her daughter, but was initially rejected. Still, she responded with humility and faith. Her story teaches us that grace is always within reach, even when we feel at our lowest. With unwavering hope, she humbly persisted in asking for Jesus’ help, reminding us that we, too, can seek God’s grace, regardless of our circumstances.

When faced with challenges, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and question our worthiness. Yet, like this Gentile woman, we can approach God humbly, recognizing that His grace is not earned but freely given. In our lowest moments, asking for grace means acknowledging our need for divine help and trusting that God’s love and mercy are abundant.

Dean Pax Lapid (paxlapid@it-spac.com)

reflect

God’s grace is available to all who seek it, especially in times of need.

Lord Jesus, please remind us that Your grace can lift us, no matter how low we feel. Your will be done. Amen.

Saint Julian, pray for us.

Solomon’s desire for wealth and his attraction to the trappings of kingly living caused his heart to stray. He does not want to be a warrior like his father as he finds that way of life uncomfortable. He forms alliances through marriage in order to keep the peace and the armies unemployed. He tolerates foreign religions, beliefs, and practices in his court that are displeasing to God.

⁴ When Solomon was old, his wives had turned his heart to strange gods, and his heart was not entirely with the Lord his God, as the heart of his father David had been. ⁵ By adoring Astarte, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Milcom, the idol of the Ammonites, ⁶ Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not follow him unreservedly as his father David had done. ⁷ Solomon then built a high place to Chemosh, the idol of Moab, and to Molech, the idol of the Ammonites, on the hill opposite Jerusalem. ⁸ He did the same for all his foreign wives who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods. ⁹ The Lord, therefore, became angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice ¹⁰ (for though the Lord had forbidden him this very act of following strange gods, Solomon had not obeyed him). ¹¹ So the Lord said to Solomon: “Since this is what you want, and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes which I enjoined on you, I will deprive you of the kingdom and give it to your servant. ¹² I will not do this during your lifetime, however, for the sake of your father David; it is your son whom I will deprive. ¹³ Nor will I take away the whole kingdom. I will leave your son one tribe for the sake of my servant David and of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 106:3-4, 35-36, 37, 40

R: Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.

³ Blessed are they who observe what is right, who do always what is just. ⁴ Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people; visit me with your saving help. (R) ³⁵ But they mingled with the nations and learned their works. ³⁶ They served their idols, which became a snare for them. (R) ³⁷ They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons. ⁴⁰ And the Lord grew angry with his people, and abhorred his inheritance. (R)   

Gospel | Mark 7:24-30

The Syrophoenician woman recognizes God's power. She believes that even the scraps of His power—rejected by the children of the house, so to speak—are enough to heal her daughter. It is not that Jesus does not want to heal her daughter; He wants to use the faith of the woman as an example for the Jews who do not believe in Him. 

Gospel Acclamation

Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls.

²⁴ Jesus went off to the district of Tyre. He entered a house and wanted no one to know about it, but he could not escape notice. ²⁵ Soon, a woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him. She came and fell at his feet. ²⁶ The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth, and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter. ²⁷ He said to her, “Let the children be fed first. For it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” ²⁸ She replied and said to him, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.” ²⁹ Then he said to her, “For saying this, you may go. The demon has gone out of your daughter.” ³⁰ When the woman went home, she found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.

Read the Bible in one year! Read EPHESIANS 1 - 3 today.

It has been said that God has only one weakness: the prayer of a sincere person. How much more powerful is the prayer of a loving mother, whose deep affection for her child drives her to seek God with unwavering faith?

In today’s Gospel, we meet a Gentile woman from Tyre in Phoenicia, a region north of Galilee, where the Jewish people held a low opinion of the pagans. The woman, considered “a dog” by the Jews, approaches Jesus in humility, acknowledging her unworthiness but pleading for her daughter’s healing.

Though Jesus initially rebuffs her, stating that His mission is to the children of Israel, the mother persists. She responds with humility, expressing her faith that even the crumbs from God’s table can bring healing. Her boldness and persistence in prayer reveal the depth of her love for her child and her unwavering faith in Jesus.

In the end, Jesus recognizes the strength of her faith and heals her daughter. This encounter highlights the inclusive nature of Jesus’ mission—open to all people, not just the Jews—and teaches that faith, not heritage, is the key to receiving God’s blessings. The woman’s persistence and trust in Jesus remind us that God listens to the prayers of those who approach Him with love, humility, and faith. 

Fr. Paolo Asprer, SSP

reflection question

What are your heart’s cries to God? Trust that He hears you and will respond in the best way—in His time.

Lord, hear the cries of those who call to You in faith, especially mothers who seek healing for their loved ones. May we, like this brave woman, trust in Your love that knows no boundaries. Grant us the courage to persist in prayer, knowing that Your compassion can heal all wounds. Amen.

Today, I pray for: _____________________________