Today, 29 January 2012, the 17th Sunday after the Pentecost, the evangelical pericope of Saint Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, chapter 15, lines 21-26 presenting the healing of the Canaanite woman were read in all the places of worship of the Romanian Patriarchate.

In the sermon delivered in “Saint Gregory the Enlightener” chapel of the Patriarchal Residence, His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church showed the importance of the prayer celebrated for our neighbour.

“The Canaanite woman prefigures or suggests in advance the Mystery of the Church which prays for many people, not only for her, because this Canaanite woman was praying, in fact, for her daughter. Here we also see that the insistence or intervention, the intercession that the disciples of the Saviour do so that He should help this Canaanite woman prefigures the prayers of the servants of the Church for healing people, for the help that they ask from God to be implemented in the fulfilment of their requests. Here we see how much matter the prayers for other people, not only for us. The Canaanite woman is also a model of faithful mother. She does not say “have mercy for my daughter”, but “have mercy for me”, because the mother is fully identified with the sufferance of her daughter. She becomes a sympathiser or suffering together with her daughter. She identifies herself so much with the sufferance of her daughter that the daughter’s sufferance becomes her own sufferance, and she becomes the voice of her daughter’s sufferance. Here we see how great is the blessing to have parents, brothers and sisters, husband or wife, as well as faithful friends who pray for us when we can no longer do it or when we do not do it enough. Here we see that we need other people’s prayers (...) When God does not always answer our prayers does not mean that He is indifferent or does not care, but He wants us to increase our faith, prayers, insistence to ask for His help. This woman becomes a great teacher for us”, explained His Beatitude, as Trinitas Radio station informs us.

Next week the Triode period will begin.