Today, 22nd of February, we celebrate
The Chair of Saint Peter the Apostle
The Lord God said:
“It is not good for the man to be alone.
I will make a suitable partner for him.”
So the Lord God formed out of the ground
various wild animals and various birds of the air,
and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them;
whatever the man called each of them would be its name.
The man gave names to all the cattle,
all the birds of the air, and all the wild animals;
but none proved to be the suitable partner for the man.
So the Lord God cast a deep sleep on the man,
and while he was asleep, he took out one of his ribs
and closed up its place with flesh.
The Lord God then built up into a woman
the rib that he had taken from the man.
When he brought her to the man, the man said:
“This one, at last, is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
this one shall be called ‘woman,’
for out of ‘her man’ this one has been taken.”
That is why a man leaves his father and mother
and clings to his wife,
and the two of them become one flesh.
The man and his wife were both naked, yet they felt no shame.
R./ Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Blessed are you who fear the Lord,
who walk in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
blessed shall you be, and favored.
R./ Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
Your children like olive plants
around your table.
R./ Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Behold, thus is the man blessed
who fears the Lord.
The Lord bless you from Zion:
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
R./ Blessed are those who fear the Lord
Jesus went to the district of Tyre.
He entered a house and wanted no one to know about it,
but he could not escape notice.
Soon a woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him.
She came and fell at his feet.
The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth,
and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter.
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.”
She replied and said to him,
“Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.”
Then he said to her, “For saying this, you may go.
The demon has gone out of your daughter.”
When the woman went home, she found the child lying in bed
and the demon gone.
The Tendency to Exclude Others
The tendency to exclude others—those who are different—seems to have always been present in the human heart. Differences often come to be seen as a threat to our way of life. The one who speaks differently, who has different customs, who follows another religion, who belongs to another race or color, who… and we could go on listing all the many differences that exist among people.
Borders often mark those territories where we feel safe. Beyond them lies the unknown. They, the others, are blamed for our problems—unemployment, crime, economic crises, the failures of our country. To be honest, politicians often fuel these fears to cover up their own shortcomings and even to unite the people. They understand that there’s nothing better than having a common enemy.
But the Gospel is for everyone—without exception, without borders. It cannot be any other way because God’s love is either universal, or it is not love at all.
Today’s Gospel shows how even Jesus needed a moment to step beyond His own borders—beyond His Jewish world. The woman who came to Him was a pagan, from another land, another people. She was not Jewish. But suffering, pain, and illness are the same on both sides of any border. And Jesus could not remain indifferent to that pain, even if she spoke a different language or came from another place. And He did not remain indifferent.
Today, when we live in a time where borders and differences are being emphasized more than ever, Christians should be examples of open hands, of the ability to welcome those who are different and to share what we have with them.
While others criminalize and exclude those who are different—especially immigrants—we should make our churches and communities places of true brotherly welcome, without thinking about differences in religion, ideology, race, or anything else. Only in this way can we truly bear witness to God’s love—a love that is always for everyone, that excludes no one, that embraces all.
Fernando Torres, cmfFather of all,?
long ago you chose the people of Israel?
to make your name known to all nations.
Your Son Jesus Christ, made it clear?
that forgiveness and life are the share?
of all who believe in him.?
Make your Church truly a place of encounter?
for all those who grope for you,?
that all obstacles and barriers may be removed?
and that the riches of all nations and cultures?
may reveal the thousand faces of the love you show us?
in Jesus Christ, our Lord.
First Reading Introduction: The Lord God brought her to Adam, and the two of them became one flesh. Why are men and women attracted to one another? Love is stronger than death and stronger than the bonds with parents. They become one chair, most of all in the chair of the child. Human beings are social, and need an equal partner, created from near the heart of man, “flesh from my flesh and bone from my bones.” And now, the man can say “you, thou.”
Gospel Introduction: The dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps. Despised pagans too, are offered salvation. The doctors of the Law had called the region where Jesus worked this miracle, a region of dogs. God lifts up the lowly who believe. Grace is no exclusive privilege for God’s people. The kingdom is also for pagans.
– That there may be room in the universal Church for the cultural riches of various peoples and for their manifesting the same faith in a variety of languages and forms of expression, we pray:
– That we may open our homes and hearts to those who differ in many ways from us, that we may do all we can to integrate them into the human and Christian community, we pray:
– That all of us may be concerned about those who are not here because they are estranged from the Church, we pray:
God, our Father,?
you set the table of your Son?
for all who are willing to come:?
for saints and for sinners, for the poor and the rich.?
May we learn from your Son, Jesus Christ, ?
to give to all those who ask for food or love?
not meager crumbs or leftovers,?
but the food of ourselves,?
as Jesus does here for us,?
he who is your Son and our Lord for ever.
God our Father,?
in this Eucharist we have all been one?
in Jesus Christ, your Son.?
He died and rose to life for all;?
his likeness is reflected?
in the face of every human being.?
May it become visible in all.?
Let his face not be marred or divided?
by our prejudices and fears;?
do not allow your love to be less than universal,?
but unite us all in him?
who is our common way to you and to one another,?
Jesus Christ, our Lord.
May there be room in this house, that is, in our Christian communities, for all people, whatever their race or social class, their culture or education. May Almighty God bless you all, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
