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I was going through some of my archived posts from the Bible Notes website I used to maintain back in 2005 and found some articles on Matthew which may still come in handy this year, if they happen to coincide with the Sunday readings. I have written newer versions for some of the sections from the Gospel of Matthew (e.g., Jesus Walking on the Waters, the Canaanite Woman). Reading these just now reminds me of what I read somewhere from Origen: that the student of the Scriptures understands a passage better each time he studies it at different stages of his life. While 2005 isn't really that far off I can truthfully say that going back to the same passages I have already reflected on did allow me to see something that I missed the first time I worked on them.

The Gospel reading for the 21^st is taken from Matthew 16:13-23. The first part of the selection -- Mt. 16:13-19 -- is about the Confession of Peter. The theme of the 21st Sunday is about the keys of the kingdom of David that Jesus gives to Peter, the chancellor of the Kingdom. In what follows, we have two Fathers of the Church meditating on this authority given to Peter. The first is on the service of unity that the Petrine office renders. The second is on the apostolic tradition that is guaranteed by the apostolic succession. This second is specially interesting because of the background: the gnostics were boasting that they have a secret knowledge passed on to them that is more efficacious than that of the Catholic Church. Irenaeus' argument is simple: if the Lord would have given a secret knowledge, he would have given it to the apostles and the apostles in turn would have given it to their successors, the ones who will later on take care of the Lord's flock in their absence. Irenaeus then how the knowledge of the apostles is handed down in a faithful traditioning that is guaranteed by the succession of bishops. The selection is also interesting because it provides us the list of the successors of Peter in Rome until the time of Irenaeus who lived between 115 and 202.

I have been looking for Augustine's sermon on the Canaanite woman so as to get additional insight into Matthew 15:21-28 and how it can be used in a homily or catechesis. I found not one but three. These are given in The Works of St. Augustine, III/3 edited by John Rotelle and translated by Edmund Hill. Two of these are really on the Canaanite woman episode (Serm. 77 and 77B); the other uses the text of the gospel as an occassion for an exhortation on Christian Combat based on the responsorial psalm for that day, Psalm 51 and the reading from Paul, Rom. 7:14ff about the struggles of the flesh and spirit (Serm. 77A)

The story of the Canaanite woman -- which we will be reading for the 20th Sunday (Year A) is a story about humble and persevering prayer. At least that is the way Bede the Venerable understands it. In this selection from one of his homilies, Bede takes the Canaanite woman as a type of those whose conscience is stained by sin. These should submit themselves with humility, as the Canaanite woman did, and not cease from insistent prayer. Along this line, Cyprian's teaching on prayer -- taken from his catechism on the Our Father -- offers insights on "attentive" prayer. Interesting in this piece is the way he explains "Sursum corda", the beginning of the preface to the eucharistic prayer. Also interesting is the way he uses an observable fact -- people who pray with eyes closed and with moving lips -- as an illustration for vigilant prayer.