Blessed Sacrament St. Charles Borromeo Church Newark, NJ issued the following announcement on Aug. 16

During today's First Reading from the Book of Isaiah, [Is. 56:1, 6-7], we heard the Words of the Lord God, "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples." [Is. 56:7] In this prophetic exhortation and warning, the Lord promised to bring to His holy mountain all the foreigners, the Gentiles, who unite themselves to Him.

This particular passage from the Holy Scriptures placed an emphasis on the Temple of the Lord, on worship, on the Sabbath, on fasting and on the Law. At the same time, there was a reference to universal salvation, the necessity for purification and the fulfillment of hopes through the arrival of the promised Messiah. In summary, today's passage from the Holy Bible echoed the fulfillment of the Heavenly Father's Divine plan that was manifested by our Lord Jesus Christ who instituted the Holy Catholic Church.

During today’s Second Reading from the Letter of Paul to the Romans, [Rom. 11:13-15, 29-32] we heard that God’s gift and calling to Israel was irrevocable. This Reading was a follow-up of an earlier Chapter that addressed Israel’s failure to accept Christ because of its own denial. [Rom. 10:1-21] Israel’s rejection of Christ was not because God’s promises had failed. For God had foreseen in His election of Israel as His people that in time, they would harden their hearts and reject the truth.

While Paul expressed sorrow over Israel’s blindness, he is quick to point out that God can make good things come out of everything. Because Israel rejected the opportunity placed before it, the salvific uprightness that was made possible through Jesus [Rom. 10:1-4] the opportunity to believe in Christ was offered to all. When a reference is made to all, this includes Israel, its inclusion being an assurance that its people would not deny having been provided with the opportunity to hear the Gospel.

Today’s Reading from the Gospel of Matthew, [Mt. 15:21-28] the account of Jesus and the Canaanite woman, is one of the rare encounters of Jesus with Gentiles. As you all heard earlier, when Jesus went to the district of Tyre and Sidon, [Mt. 15:21] in Southern Phoenicia, He was approached by a woman who abounded in love for her daughter who was tormented by a demon. [Mt. 15:22]

What is unusual about this event is that the woman was a Canaanite. In deuteronomic and postdeuteronomic literature, the Canaanites was viewed as a very sinful race that embodied every possible evil and godlessness. The Canaanites were viewed as a nation that was to be exterminated.

At first, he ignored her. The more Jesus ignored her, the more the woman shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me!” The more the woman shouted, the more the disciples of Jesus were getting annoyed and urged Jesus to send her away so she will stop shouting. The disciples were urging Jesus to dismiss the woman, this was not a request to just get rid of her, their request was for Jesus to dismiss the woman by granting her petition.

Original source can be found here.