Aug 16 Sun
How can we reconcile the silence of God with the faith of the Canaanite woman?
In today's Gospel, we encounter the Lord's initial resistance and the unflinching insistence of the Canaanite woman: "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is cruelly tormented by the devil." It is the anguished cry of so many mothers who witness evil take hold of their children.
There are evils of the body, but there are also evils of the spirit—people who do not believe in God. And evils of the will—people who refuse to believe because it demands commitment.
The silence of God!
This mother does not protest or accuse, but prostrates herself before Jesus and says, "Lord, help me."
"Ask, and it will be given to you..." Yes, but so many have abandoned the life of prayer, withdrawing their trust in God when their petitions go unanswered. "What is the use of praying?" people scornfully ask when their problems remain unsolved. When God does not grant what we ask for, it does not mean He has not heard us.
To expect God to fulfill our desires would not be asking but commanding Him. And what do we ask for, most of the time? The removal of pain, easy success, a quick solution to a problem. Yet, our Father God, who knows better than we do what is best for us, lets events unfold because they will bring about a greater good. Ignorant or impulsive, we ask for stones instead of bread.
This Canaanite woman symbolizes the Church that cries out to God, day and night, year after year, throughout the centuries, for all to be delivered from evil.
There are stages in her history when it seems that God is silent. But this is not so. The Church believes in the salvation offered by God, even if evil seems to triumph, just as this woman believed. "Because of what you have said, go; the demon has gone out of your daughter," Jesus said. "And when she returned to her house, she found the child in bed, and the demon gone away." Faith makes it possible to foresee the outcome.
Christ encourages us to petition God with filial boldness.
With PRAYER OF PETITION, we inform God what we want so He can grant it to us. Of course, we cannot ask for something inherently evil for us and expect to be heard.
Likewise, we can make PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING with filial boldness, thanking Him for anything that is not sinful.
PRAYER OF ATONEMENT should also be made, expressing sorrow to God for all our sins and the evils we see around us.
Finally, we can PRAY AND ADORE GOD. Also, some make the sign of the cross when passing a church, or pray a Hail Mary when passing an accident scene, or genuflect unhurriedly before the Blessed Sacrament.