I was recently at a Catholic conference and had a conversation with someone living in the thick of Hollywood culture. He was Catholic and spoke of how hard it was to live out his faith amid tremendous temptation and negativity toward religion. He spoke about how going to daily Mass helped to keep him centered and stay strong in his faith. He was a great witness to living out one’s faith in the face of disbelief.

One thing that he told me stood out above all the rest. He spoke of his engagement to his fiancé and how important it was to him that God was a major part of their relationship and their lives as individuals as well. He told me he said some-thing to her like, “If you don’t love Jesus more than you love me, this is never going to work.” What an amazing and truly moving witness!

The problem of evil is perplexing. If God is all-powerful and all-good, why doesn’t He stop bad things from happening? He must either not be all-powerful, or perhaps He’s not very good after all. Human beings have faced the possibility of evil since the very beginning of our existence. In granting us free will, God gives us the ability to make free choices. God does not force us into moral perfection. We are not forced to love Him or to love our neighbor. We must make the decision ourselves. This means, of course, that we have the ability to choose against love.

En el pasaje del Evangelio de hoy, Jesús sana a la hija de una mujer cananea. Ésta insiste a Jesús sobre la enfermedad de su hija, hasta que Jesús le concede el milagro de sanarla. Recordemos, que Dios envía a Jesús no sólo al pueblo judío, sino a todos los pueblos. La circunstancia del momento no es sólo cuestión de la fe tan grande de la mujer cananea, sino su situación de no ser del pueblo escogido. “Ese era el dilema”. Pues, al parecer aquella mujer no tenía derecho a la salvación. Pero, ella reconoce en Jesús al Mesías y no duda en insistir. Reflexionemos en el diálogo de la mujer y Jesús.