In the Gospel, our Lord engages in a dialogue with the Canaanite woman, who is asking for healing for her daughter, who has the worst type of disease – not blindness, not lameness, not a fever, but demonic possession. The woman and her daughter are both descendants of the peoples which originally settled the land, a land that is thoroughly pagan, a land that worshipped false gods. The dialogue initially does not go well for the woman, as Christ tells his disciples that He came for the lost children of Israel, and, by implication not the lost children of Canaan. As St. John Chrysostom states, “She makes her petition, raising her voice into a shout, and God, the lover of mankind, answers not a word” (Catena aurea, vol. 1, pg. 461, 2014). When he finally does answer, our Lord puts to the test the woman’s faith, by saying words which stung 2000 years ago, just as they sting today: “it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” It is this woman’s persistence and her humility, and her great faith, that, in the end, win over our Lord’s heart, so to speak. With one word, Jesus Christ casts the demon out.
“Woman, great is your faith!” exclaims the Lord in the Gospel. In the Mass, after the Our Father, the priest prays to Christ, “look not on our sins, but on the faith of your Church.” How is our faith today? How are we looking after our faith, whether as a Church, or as individuals? We need to be convinced, those of us who are parents, that God, in His time, will answer our prayers for spouses, brothers, sisters, children, grandchildren, and other family members, who may have lost their faith. There are situations of children leaving the faith, grandchildren not baptized, parents who seem to have made hockey, gymnastics, and other pursuits the gods of their home. There is a spirit of rebellion present, when no amount of talking or reasoning seems to work. Perhaps at times we are in the position of that Canaanite woman, when, despite our loud cries, God seems to be silent. We need to take care that our own faith does not run cold, that we maintain our own faith through daily prayer, Holy Mass on Sunday, regular confession, and spiritual reading. The prophet Isaiah says twice in today’s first reading that the Lord indicates that his house “will be a house of prayer.” We pray a prayer of covering and protection on ourselves and our family members when we come here and worship. Christ, with one word, cast the demon out of the Canaanite woman. In a similar way He can ignite the faith of our loved ones. St. Augustine makes mention of the times in the Gospel that children are healed because of the prayers of their parents (Catena aurea, vol.1, pg. 464, 2014).
There are times when God gives us clear signs that say, pay attention, signs that reinforce the faith. Perhaps you have heard of the devastating fires that burned Maui. There was a Catholic church that was left standing, unscathed by the flames, while thousands of structures were reduced to ashes. The preschool, convent, two other school buildings, and the parish hall directly behind the church all burned to the ground. Even the flowers inside the church did not wilt, despite the extreme temperatures. The church was untouched by the flames and Mass has already been said inside it. The name of the church is Maria Lanakila, which, in the local language, means Mary the Victorious, or Our Lady of Victory. It is signs like these that the Lord uses to encourage our faith, to strengthen our faith. It is signs like a church miraculously saved from the flames that the Lord uses to say, have you put your faith in the right things?
We live these days and this liturgy in the Octave of the Solemnity of the Assumption. We will end this octave with the feast of the Queenship of Mary, this Tuesday. Maria Lanakila – Our Lady of Victory – the woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet – she is our hope. It is through sometimes very tragic circumstances, such as fires, that God underscores how powerful and victorious she really is. Mould our hearts according to yours, dear Mother Mary, as we come to you for protection and encouragement.
May we keep our faith, may we look on the church as a place of prayer, and may we be attentive to the signs that God gives us to reinforce our faith.
(Fr. Paweł Ratajczak, OMI, Aug. 20, 2023)