Face-To-Face With Jesus

“Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters”

This statement shows us that the Canaanite woman Jesus encountered was desperate.  She had already been begging and crying out to Jesus, “Have pity on me, Lord, my daughter is tormented by a demon.”  Jesus tried to explain that he couldn’t help her because he was sent to “only the lost sheep of Israel.” But she didn’t care, her daughter was in dire straits and this mother was not giving up on her.  She was going to do everything she could to get her the help that she needed.

Somehow, this woman knew Jesus had the power to heal.  We don’t know how she knew this. Maybe she had witnessed some of his healing miracles, but all we know is that she knew and that she had faith that Jesus could save her daughter from the demon that was tormenting her. She wasn’t going to be discouraged or take a simple no as an answer.  She was determined and persistent. You can tell by her response to Jesus after he told her, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs,” that her mind was clear and sharp.  She cried out to Jesus saying, “Please Lord for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.”  This got Jesus’ attention and, once again, he healed someone who was not an Israelite because they displayed great faith, just as he had done for the centurian who asked Jesus to heal his servant. Jesus knew, of course, that soon he would send his Apostles to all nations (not just Israel) baptizing and teaching the faith, but this was not yet the time.  

We see, however, that crying out to Jesus in total faith and surrendering to his love and holy will is the way we should approach the Lord with all our needs.  

You will notice that the way the Canaanite woman interacts with Jesus is a perfect model of the way we should communicate with him in our life of prayer.  She is having a true conversation with him.  She is speaking to Jesus and listening for his response, speaking, and listening, speaking and listening.  That’s what prayer is all about.

Some might say, "but she was right there with Jesus, face to face, that’s different, we don’t have that opportunity." But is it? Is it really different? At every Mass, just like the Canaanite woman, we are blessed to have a close personal encounter with Jesus when we receive him in the Eucharist.  He gave us the gift of himself in the Eucharist specifically for that purpose.  

We don’t have to worry about Jesus ignoring us as he did the Canaanite woman.  He won’t ignore us or hesitate to interact with us.  He wants to share his life with us, and he wants us to pour out our hearts to him, because, unlike the Canaanite woman, through baptism we became part of Jesus’ family.  Jesus is just waiting for us to come and talk with him.

We have an amazing opportunity to have a conversation with Jesus every time we pray, but when we attend Mass and receive him in Holy Communion we are as close to him as we can ever be here on earth.  In Holy Communion, we meet Jesus face to face, body, blood, soul, and divinity.  Paragraph 1377 of the Catechism tells us that “The Eucharistic presence of Christ begins at the moment of the Consecration and endures as long as the Eucharistic species subsist.”  It is believed that for about ten minutes after receiving communion until our bodies break down the elements of bread and wine, we have the opportunity to have a one-on-one personal meeting with Christ.  During that time, we will be as close to him as we can be as close as will be to him in heaven.  When I entered into diaconate formation, our formators highly encouraged us to go to daily Mass precisely for this reason.  They wanted us to grow in our relationship with Jesus and having this daily encounter with him, when we fully realize what is taking place, is the best way to do it.  

I remember being asked the question, “What do you do when you go back to your pew after you receive Jesus at communion?”  

Do you go back and say the same prayer you have said since you were a child?  

Do you daydream about what you are going to do for the remainder of your Sunday?  

Do you peek around to see who made it to Mass?  

Here’s what you should be doing. Since you have the opportunity to have a personal conversation with Jesus, you should be praying for whatever is most important to you in your life.  Just think about it, if you are going to Mass on Sunday, you can have a ten-minute conversation with Jesus, and that’s awesome.  But if you went every day, then you would have seventy minutes a week to talk to Jesus face to face.  Don’t you think that could change your life?  From my personal experience, I can tell you it changes everything.

Going to Mass and receiving Jesus in the Eucharist daily (if possible) and regular Confession provides the grace we need to grow in our faith and come to know, love, and serve God as we should.  They keep us grounded in Jesus and help draw us to want to spend more time with him, and continually grow in our relationship with him each day.

Amen.