[media presentation below] GospelThink Sunday, August 20, Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time MATTHEW 15:21-28 I tested the young lady as I test you at times. The answer is to have faith in me always.  Prayerthoughts  a. The girl had a “demon.” We are not sure what this means exactly, but we know that there was some affliction in the girl’s life. There are a number of people that I run into day after day who are afflicted with something. Do I try to pay attention to their needs? b. The person was not Jewish. There are a number of people who are not believers in my faith as I believe. Am I open to their understanding of God? c. The Lord does not pay any attention to the lady. There are times when I wonder whether the Lord is listening to me. What are some recent times, and perhaps I need to make an act of faith. d. Jesus seems to insult the lady, probably as a means to test her faith. Is my faith in Jesus a guiding factor in everything that I do? e. It is obvious that the lady had faith and accepted the insult, but did not lose her belief, and Jesus rewarded her for it. When I am insulted, I should respond with no thought of revenge. Has revenge played a part in the way I behave? f. My prayerthoughts… Today, I will read Romans, chapter 11, and write an important thought from it. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy THE PRAYER OF PETITION            Let’s say that you were the wife of a professional baseball manager at the height of his career. And let’s say that you prayed all your life that he, the person that you loved, would be less involved with baseball and more involved with you, and it never happened. Let’s say further that your husband, the baseball manager was struck with a brain tumor and died within a very short amount of time. As one studies that scene, that slice of life, a person without faith would have to conclude that the prayer was not answered. But not Nancy Howser, wife of Dick Howser, manager of Kansas City Royals who was manager of the Royals in 1985 when they won the World Series the first time—she was a person of faith.            In front of 40,000 people at Kaufman—then Royals—Stadium, Nancy Howser spoke of her great faith and gave a Christian lesson to baseball fans on the prayer of petition that was exactly what the Canaanite woman portrayed in today’s Gospel. In the Gospel, the Canaanite woman was persistent. Jesus’ disciples complain that she keeps calling out after them. Nancy Howser went into her prayer knowing that it would be answered; she was persistent—she kept calling out to the Lord.            Secondly, the Canaanite woman had to live with the fact that the prayer is not answered at first. In fact, it seems that Jesus “toys” with her, ignoring her, and rubs in the fact that she is not a Jewish person, almost telling her to go away, something his disciples probably did. Nancy Howser had to live with the fact that her husband probably loved baseball more than he loved her.            And this is the important point—the Canaanite woman withstood the criticism, even to the point of arguing with Jesus, and is finally granted her request because she was a person of faith. Nancy Howser studied what happened in light of her faith. What to many was the failure of prayer was to her the answer to prayer. Her words:           “We had in many ways a wonderful year. We had a chance to be together, we had a chance to live and to love and to share and to cry, to laugh, but the most important thing that we had a chance to do was to re-dedicate our lives to Jesus and develop and grow in faith.”  It always has impressed me that the fans applauded that statement. She continued:           “There are many of us and many of you who prayed for Dick’s healing and we prayed for a miracle. And I don’t want anyone to be disappointed because every day we had together was an answer to our prayer and every day we had together was another miracle.” For Nancy Howser, the prayer of petition worked because she looked at it as a person of faith.            The most important part of the prayer of petition is spoken by Jesus today:           Woman, great is your faith. You and I pray for things all the time. As we do it, our prayer of petition should have these elements: 1 – we go in to prayer, knowing that it will be answered somehow, and we are persistent with it; 2 – we live with the fact that the prayer is not answered at times, almost like we are being “toyed with” by God; and 3 – most importantly, we understand what happens with the eyes of faith, maybe not in the way we thought or even wanted. But we know that the prayer is answered, and it will always be for the good.            As I say, you and I pray to God for things all the time. We do not have the slightest idea how the prayer of petition works, but we know that it will because Jesus told us to do it. A person who really believes that will be a person of faith, and will eventually see and understand the answer that God gives. MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: “Locked Out of Heaven” — Bruno Mars BORN AGAIN The Gospel JOHN 3:4-8 Nicodemus said to Jesus: “How can a person once grown old be born again? Surely he cannot reenter his mother’s womb and be born again, can he?” Jesus answered, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I told you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.“

Gospelthink: I tell Nicodemus that he must be born from above, as every human. Do I remember my Baptism by living out the promises as often as I should?

“Never had much faith in love or miracles. Never wanna put my heart on the line, but swimming in your water is something spiritual: I’m born again every time you spend the night. ‘Cause your love takes me to paradise, yeah, your love takes me to paradise and it shows ’cause you make me feel like I’ve been locked out of heaven for too long.” [lyrics adjusted]

Jesus was interested in making people feel better about themselves, wanting them to feel that “all is right” with life. He used the idea of being “born again” to express it. The person who is “born again” or “born from above” feels that “all is right” with our present and future world. In Christian terms, the sacrament of Baptism leads us to understand that “all is right” while we live because we have brought Jesus, the source of all that is good, into our lives. Bruno Mars’ song “Locked Out of Heaven” uses the same term that Jesus uses–“born again”–to describe a physical relationship that one has with another. The song implies that a complete physical giving of self will bring happiness to a couple in love. Indeed, if a relationship is truly a love relationship, it should make both people feel “born again,” that “all is right” with life. When Jesus spoke of a physical giving of self, he always spoke of it within the confines of marriage, and he did it for good reason. The total commitment of one to another in a physical way implies that the couple involved has made a permanent life-style change. It is a contradiction to express physically something that has not occurred in the lives of the couple. The endeavor to make the feeling that “all is right” is one of the goals of good living. If we feel “born again” or “born from above,” we will achieve it. Truly loving relationships can bring it about, as it does for the couple in Bruno Mars’ song, and it is an attitude that must spread throughout one’s whole life. If we are “born again” with the attitude that “all is right” no matter what, our lives will be infinitely better. To be “born again” can describe the natural love of two people but it also describes a spiritual way of living that “all is right” in everything we do.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, you have given us the gift of being “born again” when we accepted your Son. Give us the grace to truly make your Son present in all that we do. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: To be “born again” means that “all is right” in life. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. Give your own definition of “being born again.” 2. Jesus speaks of the Kingdom throughout the Gospels. Project: make a presentation on the meaning of the Kingdom. See Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, numbers 2816-2821 and references. 3. The reference to water usually calls to mind the sacrament of Baptism. Make a presentation on the sacrament of Baptism. See Catechism, numbers 1213-1274. 4. How can a love relationship make a person feel “born again”? 5. Analysis: the song seems to say that sex before marriage is a good thing. In your opinion, do most people agree with the statement? Yes or no and why? 6. The meditation uses the phrase “all is right.” If “all is right” in the world, primarily what would it mean about the world? 7. The meditation gives the reason of “contradiction” as an argument against having sex outside of marriage. What are some other arguments against having sex outside of marriage? 8. If it is true that most Americans have had sex before marriage (as most reports suggest), what effect, if any, does it have on marriage? 9. Is it offensive to you when a love situation is described in spiritual terms as in Bruno Mars’ song? Yes or no and why? 10. What does the song “Locked Out of Heaven” teach young people?