Newsletter 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) 16th August, 2026
GOSPEL REFLECTION:
The Cananite woman asked Jesus to heal her daughter who is afflicted by a devil. The Cananite woman was refused 3 times by Jesus before he answered her request/prayer and on the third refusal He called her “house dog”. The woman makes a fourth request/prayer because of the woman’s perseverance Jesus answers: “Woman, you have great faith. Let your wish be granted.” (Matt 15: 28). And at that moment her daughter was well again. In today’s Gospel we are inspired to have great faith in prayer and with that in mind, I recommend doing nine types of prayer regularly: 1. RECEIVE GOD’S LOVE AND LIFE Begin by letting God do to you what he wants. That is to love you. This is how I begin my Holy Hour every day. Just relax and let God satisfy His desire to love you. There is no limit to what Our Lord wants for us. He wants to fill us with His life, His Holy Spirit. He wants to fill us with His joy, His peace, His inner strength. He wants us to be completely like Himself. He wants us to be one in Him, completely one – always. As we reflect on this, we could be in silence, imagining His face, or Him on the Cross. You may pray set prayers, such as the Rosary, you may sing to Him etc. I begin to pray the Rosary as I let Him love me and fill me with His Holy Spirit. 2. ADORATION: (As a result of receiving His Love we want to return His Love.) Bl Andre Bessette wrote: “O Holy Angels, make me see God on the altar as you see Him in heaven.” The angels and saints in heaven adore and praise God with all their heart mind and soul and for all eternity, because of God’s infinite love for them. Therefore, it is natural for us to do the same. We were made to adore God: We adore Him in silence. We adore Him with song. We could also adore God by praying the Rosary. When we adore God, remember we are not only an individual, but we are one body or one church. Adore God alone but remember to adore God with all the angels and saints in heaven, (souls in purgatory and all the faithful on earth). 3. REPENTENCE Make an act of contrition, for example: “O my God I am sorry that I have sinned against you, because you are so good and with your help, I will not sin again!” Also, ask God to forgive the sins of all mankind. “For the sake of your sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.” 4. INTERCESSION (a) Church Pray for the pope, priests, and vocations. Pray for more people to come to Mass, more Eucharistic Adoration. Renewal in the Church. (b) World Pray for particular authority figures as they come to mind to do God’s Will and have God’s wisdom. (c) Conversion Souls in purgatory, souls heading for hell. General conversion and for more people to become saints. Pray for particular people (as they now come to mind.) (d) Healing/Physical and Mental Broken relationships, drug addiction, mental illness. (e) Family Members/Friends/Family in purgatory Also, friends, and also people who have asked for our prayers. Also pray for your own personal intentions. (f) The Future Second Coming, God’s Kingdom to return. 5. THANKSGIVING We have much to be thankful for and it is very important that we reflect on what God has done for us and to give Him thanks for that. Most of all, thank God for giving us the gift of faith. Thank God for our crosses. Thank God for the times He has answered our prayers, spoken and unspoken. Thank God for the miracles. Thank God for us unconditional infinite love, which He always gives. Thank God for giving us the Eucharist. Thank God for Our Blessed Mother, our Guardian Angel. “Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the Will of God in Christ Jesus.” (1Thes 5.18) 6. SPIRITUAL READING The Lord speaks to us through the Bible which are the words of God Himself. The Lord also speaks to us through writings of doctors of the Church, mystics, theologians, and others. For me personally I read the writing of Luisa Piccarreta, commonly called “Divine Will”. These writings explain how we can live on this earth as the saints live in heaven. 8. SPEAK TO JESUS Speak using set prayers. For example: The Rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet. We should also speak to Jesus as we would to a best friend. Share what is on your heart. Share what is troubling you. Share about your spiritual life. 9. RESOLUTION Look at one vice, in particular, to improve on. Perhaps it is negative thoughts, unforgiveness, pride, etc ... A vice could be lack of prayer and we could decide to pray another Rosary each day or go to another Mass during the week. Morning Offering: For example: “May every thought, word and act I do, give you, Lord, as much praise as I can, and give as much merit or grace to the world, as I can. Amen.”
by Fr Doug Harris
Comments