Every Catholic Man - Sunday Gospel Bible Study
Learn more about how a man can grow in happiness at EveryCatholicMan.com, including daily Gospel devotions from the Mass for every day of the year. The EveryCatholicMan.com podcast can help a man draw closer to Jesus Christ, learn the Catholic faith and grow in happiness by becoming a better Catholic Son and Catholic Father. In every episode, a man can hear the Gospel reading from the Holy Catholic Mass, hear what Jesus is accomplishing, discover what can lead a man to be more awed by Jesus Christ, grow in happiness, learn from the Catechism, and take action to practice what Jesus and the Catholic Church is teaching in the Gospel. Matthew James Christoff is a Catholic convert and evangelist of Catholic men. Matthew's extensive work to help Catholic men draw closer to Jesus Christ and grow in happiness can be found at EveryCathoilcMan.com. At EveryCatholicMan.com can find daily Gospel devotions from the Mass for every day of the year and a comprehensive set of tools that can help a man grow in holiness and happiness. Matthew is a co-founder of the Catholic Men's Leadership Alliance and HeroicMen.com, the founder of the New Evangelization Project and CatholicManNight.com, and is featured in the Knights of Columbus Into the Breach Video Series. Matthew's professional career includes being a strategy consultant for Fortune 50 companies and a brand manager in a major consumer products company. Matthew has a Masters in Theology from the Augustine Institute, a Masters in Business and a Civil Engineering degree from Purdue University. Matthew is married to his childhood sweetheart, has four married adult children and grandchildren.
Every Catholic Man - Sunday Gospel Bible Study
Episode 88 - Jesus tests a Gentile woman's faith and casts a demon out of her daughter - Sunday August 20, 2023 - Mt 15:21-28
Jesus tests a Gentile woman's faith and casts a demon out of her daughter. Every Catholic man can grow in happiness by building the Virtue of Diligence so he can be relentless diligent in the battle of prayer and by practicing the Virtue of Religion so he never fails to keep his Sunday Obligation of drawing closer to Jesus Christ in the Mass.
After clashing with the Pharisees, Jesus withdrew to the Gentile territory of Canaan. Tracing to the time of Noah, the man Canaan was from an incestuous union of Noah's son, Ham, and Noah’s wife; from then on, Canaan, his descendants, and the land named after him were cursed (Gen 9:18-25). The pagan Canaanite woman, by screaming for mercy for her demon-possessed daughter, demonstrates her desperation, love for her child, and astounding courage and faith: Canaanites and Jews had centuries-old animosity and violent conflict; women did not approach men directly; a Canaanite pagan did not approach a Jewish rabbi. The Canaanite woman’s desperate screams for her demon-possessed daughter show astounding faith; she addresses Jesus as “Lord” and “Son of David”, and begs with heart-felt faith that Jesus can completely heal her daughter.
Jesus first ignores her screams and the disciples ask Jesus to send her away; He also ignores the disciples’ request, instead, revealing His priority are the “lost sheep of Israel” (Mt 10:5-6). The persistent woman then quietly kneels at His feet and begs for help. Surprisingly insulting, Jesus likens her and her entire people to “dogs”, filthy scavengers unworthy of holy blessings. The persistent woman humbly addresses Jesus as “Lord”, embraces Jesus’ insult of being like a scavenging dog, and obediently begs for “scraps”, like a little dog at her master’s feet.
In a stunning reversal, Jesus exclaims, “O woman, great is your faith!”; Jesus seldom uses “O” and it is an intimate encouragement to her; His use of “woman”, recognizes her dignity as one of His children. Rather than being coldly harsh, Jesus acts deliberately to test and draw out the woman’s faith, to make clear His Divinity, and to offer the disciples a lesson in how to respond to persistent souls with mercy, even Gentiles with whom Jews had ancient animosities.
Be awed by Jesus Christ
Be impressed with how Jesus, with the perfection of the Divine Prophet, draws out the pagan woman’s faith: despite the pagan woman’s act to fall at His feet and beg, Jesus offers a surprisingly Harsh Rebuke to her first request to test her faith, and Insults, comparing her (and all her people) to an unclean dog (a strong insult/curse); Divine Justice, in His condemnation of the Canaanites, Jesus confirms some cultures are diseased, rightly condemned and damnable and must be rejected by His disciples; when the woman persists in humility and faith, Jesus offers emphatic Encouragement to her and uses Divine Power to miraculously heal the woman’s daughter from afar.
Be relentlessly diligent in the battle of prayer
Realize: Unlike the persistence of the Canaanite woman, many men fail to pray or are lax in their prayer disciplines.
Believe: Reflect upon the Battle of Prayer (CCC 2725-2741).
Pray: Almighty Father, help me build the Virtue of Diligence (a part of Temperance) so I commit to and follow a discipline of daily prayer; my Father, give me the grace so I may someday hear You say to me, “O man, how great is your faith!"
Never fail to keep your Sunday obligation
Realize: Sadly, many Catholic men have drifted away from the Church and fallen into grave sin because they fail to keep their obligation (“a binding pledge”) to attend Sunday Mass.
Believe: Reflect upon The Sunday Obligation (CCC 2042, 2180-2183).
Pray: Jesus, Divine Priest, help me build the Virtue of Religion (a part of Justice) so I always fulfill my obligation to attend Sunday Mass, I strive to give You my best during Mass, and I immediately confess my sin in the Sacrament of Penance if I fail.