Jesus and the SyroPhoneician Woman. Jesus insisted that He was sent only
to the Jews, but allowed Himself to be won over by her faith. Mark 7:24-30
His observations places the ambiguity of the 1970 Good Friday Prayer for the Jews into some liturgical context.
[O]n the last day of every year (December 31 at "Lauds" or "Morning Prayer"), the Church prays: "O Christ, God and man, you fulfil the prophecies as David's Lord as well as his son: we beseech you that Israel may recognize you as Messiah (te rogamus, ut Israel te Messiam agnoscat)".
Second only to the Mass in importance for Catholic worship is Vespers ("Evening Prayer"), and throughout the whole 7-week Easter season the Novus Ordo has an evening prayer for the conversion of the Jews almost every week. Sometimes this is only implied, as for instance, at Vespers on the vigil of the final (7th) Sunday of the season, wherein the Church addresses the following prayer
to Jesus: "May all the peoples praise you as King and God, and may Israel become your possession (et Israel fiat possessio tua)". (That is, may the sons and daughters of Israel come under Christ's dominion as members of his Church.)
And for Vespers on Wednesday of the second and fourth weeks of Easter we find this prayer: "[O God], who chose your Son's first disciples from among the Jewish people, reveal to the children of Israel the reciprocal promise (repromissio) made to their fathers." (This is a reference to the promise announced to their fellow-Jews by Peter and the other apostles at Pentecost, that they would receive the Holy Spirit and salvation in return for believing in Christ and accepting baptism.)
Very explicit, on the other hand, is the Vespers prayer for Easter Sunday - the most important of all the annual Catholic feasts. It addresses Jesus in these words: "May Israel recognize in you the Christ she is hoping for (Israel in te Christum spei suae agnoscat), and may the whole earth be filled with the knowledge of your glory." This prayer is then repeated on the evenings of the
third and fifth Sundays of the Easter season.
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