Title: TWENTIETH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR(A), 16TH AUGUST, 2026.

THE HOLY SPIRIT - OUR BEST AND GREATEST FRIEND. GOD TESTS. KEEP PASSING HIS TEST. Child of God, Come Holy Spirit!...Jesus said in reply, ''I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.' But the woman had come up and was bowing low before him. 'Lord,' she said, 'help me.'He replied, 'It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to little dogs.' She retorted, 'Ah yes, Lord; but even little dogs eat the scraps that fall from their masters' table.' Then Jesus answered her, 'Woman, you have great faith. Let your desire be granted.' And from that moment her daughter was well again".(Mt.15:24-28(15:21-28) God is all-knowing. He is aware of every past, present, and future events(Omniscient). As God, nothing was hidden to Jesus. Thus, as soon as he saw the Canaanite Woman, He knew her very well like he knew the Samaritan Woman that met him at the Well(Jn.4:1-42). When the friends of the Paralytic man opened the roof and lowered him down for Jesus to cure him, he knew that the cause of the man's illness was sin and he forgave him(Mt.9:1-8). Therefore, let us remember always that our beloved God knows us and all our yearnings very well. But we should not also forget that He created all things for "His Fun"(Glory). So he knows all the WHY? behind everything. We panic and worry so much about things and events because we do not know very well the Good plans of God for us. When Jesus got the message that his friend Lazarus was sick, he said, "This sickness will not end in death, but it is for God's glory so that through it the Son of God may be glorified"(Jn 11:4). Indeed, the son of God was glorified through that sickness, death and raising from the death of Lazarus. We can see his good reason for not curing his good friend Lazarus when he was invited and expected to do so. Like the Canaanite woman, let us keep approaching God in prayers with humility, childlike trust and faith that he is abundantly able to grant our needs. We can pray vigorously with convictions but not shouting or commanding God to "do it now". His time, we say is the best, not our time. Let us also remind ourselves that persistence and perseverance are very essential for effective prayers. Hence, delay, not denial is one of the means he uses to test our faith and love of him and our neighbours. No doubt that waiting on God for our needs can be very challenging sometimes, but can we make it a point of duty to always see reasons to identify and acknowledge God's faithfulness in our lives and appreciate him? Appreciation, we say is an application for more. May our faith and perseverance in good works help us to keep passing our daily Divine Tests. EVER LIVING AND LOVING FATHER, WE PRAY THAT LIKE THE CANAANITE WOMAN'S FAITH HELPED HER TO GET HER REQUEST, THAT OUR TRUST AND CHILDLIKE FAITH IN YOU MAY CONTINUE TO HELP US TO PERSEVERE IN OUR GOOD WORKS AND BE AMONG THOSE THAT WILL RECEIVE ETERNAL CROWN OF GLORY IN YOUR KINGDOM, THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD, AMEN! 🙏 Thanks very much for participating in the Missionary work of Holy Ghost Fathers(Spiritans) with your supports. Forward ever and backwards never. "Do Not Be Afraid, Only Have Faith"(Mk.5:36). Your tomorrow will be better than today. Count on our prayers. Do have a nice week.