Jesus & the Canaanite Woman & “Bread of Life”

This Sunday’s reflection is adapted from a message from Pope Francis.

This Sunday’s Gospel (Mt. 15:21-28) describes the meeting between Jesus and the Canaanite woman. Jesus is north of Galilee, in foreign territory to spend some time with His disciples away from the crowds. And behold, a woman approached Him seeking help for her sick daughter: “Have mercy on me, Lord!”. It is the cry that is born out of a life marked by suffering, from the sense of the helplessness of a mother who sees her daughter tormented by evil, who cannot be healed. Jesus initially ignores her, but this mother insists; even when the Master says to the disciples that His mission is directed only to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” and not to the pagans. She continues to beg Him, and at that point, He puts her to the test, citing a proverb. It seems almost a bit cruel as he says “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs”. And right away, the woman, quick, anguished, responds: “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table”.

And with these words, that mother shows that she has perceived the goodness of the Most High God present in Jesus who is open to any of His creatures necessities. And this wisdom, filled with trust, touches Jesus’s heart and provokes words of admiration: “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish”. What type of faith is great? Great faith is that which brings its own story, marked even by wounds, and brings it to the Lord’s feet asking Him to heal them, to give them meaning.

Let us remember the prayer: “Lord, if You will it, you can heal me!” A beautiful prayer. May the Lord help us, all of us, to pray this beautiful prayer that a pagan woman teaches us.

In honour of this weekend’s readings, we would like to share our latest video, "Bread of Life", a beautiful Catholic communion hymn by Bernadette Farrell, a Roman Catholic musician, hymn writer, and social activist. This Communion hymn may be sung by cantor/soloist with all joining in the chorus, but its use of short and repetitive phrases make it easy for everyone to join in the verses.

Video can be watched by clicking here or on the picture below: