…for my house shall be called
a house of prayer for all peoples.
It would be a complete understatement to posit the obvious: we live in contentious times! As citizens of the United States who are nearing a Presidential election, that statement is squared, a hundred times!
Contentiousness is not just a reality that we experience in the world of politics. As a priest for over 45 years, I’ve sadly encountered that painful reality within the community of believers in the course of my many years in ministry. It is for that reason that the quote from Isaiah the Prophet with which I begin my reflections this day, has always been a challenging and refreshing counterpoint to the tendency among some in our Church, to divide and exclude.
With the painful reality of divorce and remarriage occurring not infrequently among Catholics, I welcomed a more compassionate approach articulated by Pope Francis in his document of some years ago, Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love). Undoubtedly, the most controversial part of this letter was the opening, in limited circumstances, to the Eucharist for some couples who had remarried after a divorce and had not or were unable to receive a church annulment. The controversy and uproar that such a possibility occasioned among the more conservative segments of the church continues to today. You would have thought that the Holy Father was undermining the entirety of Christian doctrine by such a proposal! Good Shepherd and merciful pastor that he is, he understands the hunger that many couples in this situation have for the food of life. He understands well that the Eucharist is not a reward for the perfect but rather a source of strength and encouragement for sinners.
Withholding the Eucharist to wield power and punishment is something that I will never completely understand. While I’m sure that the handful of bishops in our country who have felt in conscience that they must deny the Eucharist to Catholic elected officials who are caught in the painful conundrum of trying to live their faith as well as uphold the law of the land regarding the legality of abortion, feel that they are witnessing to the integrity of Catholic doctrine and ethics. However, I identify more with those bishops who ultimately see the danger in ‘weaponizing’ the Eucharist in this manner and standing back from prejudging the hearts and minds of those who humbly, as sinners, approach the table of grace and blessing for the food of eternity.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus has pity on the pagan Canaanite women who seeks healing for her daughter. The disciples urge Jesus to dismiss her since they perceive her unworthy of such a gift. But Jesus, in his infinite mercy and compassion will hear none of this and grants her request. For you see, in the Lord’s heart, he understands perfectly that his house is a house of prayer for ALL peoples.