Following is the prepared text from Bishop Olmsted’s homily for the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
August 16, 2020
Imagine having a daughter “tormented by a demon.” Perhaps she was kidnapped by sex-traffickers and is caught up in the diabolical slavery of prostitution. Perhaps she is addicted to pornography—a horrific, modern-day slavery corrupting our society, especially our children. Or perhaps she is being abused by a family member and you have found no way to stop it. Now, imagine that your daughter’s demonic torture has been going on for months, perhaps years. This will help you understand why the Canaanite woman was desperately seeking Jesus when He “withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon…and [why she kept screaming] … ‘Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon’.”
Where did this mother find the courage to get up each day and continue to battle for her daughter, even though she could not win by her own strength? Jesus gives the answer when He says to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish!”
Her faith and persevering prayer got Jesus to free her daughter of the demon. Three times, she pleaded with Him for mercy, each time using His title, “Lord:” First, “She called out, ‘Have pity on me, Lord.” Then, after Jesus’ disciples asked Him to send her away, “…the woman [persevered; in a spirit of adoration, she] came and did Jesus homage, saying, ‘Lord, help me’.”And thirdly, after Jesus said to her, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs;” she replied, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” In this woman, we see why the Catechism calls prayer a battle, a spiritual battle in which an unworthy sinner cries out to a merciful Savior.
The Canaanite mother helps us to see why we begin Mass with a focus on these words: “Lord, mercy!” After we pray the Confiteor, there follows a threefold supplication built around two words: Kyrie, eleison: “Lord, mercy! Christ, mercy! Lord, mercy!” At every Mass, we follow the example of the Canaanite woman calling out “Lord” and begging for mercy. Not only at Mass do we pray this way; it is a good way to begin every prayer, a good way to begin and end each day, a good way to plead with the Lord for all our sons and daughters.
But we might ask, why did Jesus say to this woman, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs?” At those words, most of us would have felt miserably rejected and given up; yes? But this loving mother did not! Quite the contrary, she even agreed with His words: “It is not right!” The Lord’s mercy is not something anyone has a right to. Never, ever have the foolish audacity to say to God, “Give me what I deserve!” The woman accepted Jesus’ statement because it is true; true not only for her and her daughter but for everyone. So, just when the disciples thought Jesus had gotten rid of the Canaanite mother, she changed what looked like grim rejection into a hope-filled prayer: “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.”
The woman acknowledged that she had no claim on God as a daughter of Israel; the Canaanites were pagans. However, neither did the sons and daughters of Abraham have a right to God’s mercy or even to call Him “Lord.” All of us need to receive both faith and His mercy as a gift. St. Paul writes (1 Cor 12:3), “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.” To be able to call Jesus, Lord, is a gift we cannot earn, a pearl of great price, the most wonderful treasure one can find. And that treasure is ours because of the unmerited mercy the Lord Jesus won for us on the Cross.
This also explains why the Canaanite woman kept repeating what Eastern Christians call the “Jesus prayer,” composed of two basic words: Lord, mercy! She said, “Have pity on me, Lord… Lord, help me! …Please, Lord!” And that is the prayer with which we begin every Mass. It explains why we often sing the prayer in the original language of the New Testament, Greek: “Kyrie, eleison! Christe, eleison! Kyrie, eleison!” It also explains why this triplet of two words is set to rich melodies that move our hearts to heartfelt contrition as it appeals with hope to the Lord for mercy.
Jesus’ encounter with the Canaanite mother was not pure chance. It seemed that way to His disciples; they were convinced she was a nuisance that needed to be driven away. But, in fact, Jesus was answering her deep longing for demonic liberation for her daughter; and at the same time, He was teaching His disciples to look for faith and prayer in the most unlikely persons.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, let us not hesitate to engage in constant prayer for our own sons and daughters. There is a great battle raging around us that is wounding our children and families, that is distorting the dignity of both women and men. For a time, the battle was mostly hidden, but now Satan is brazenly emboldened. There is only One who can win this battle: Jesus, our Lord. And the way that He begins to win the battle is when we heed the invitation that begins every Mass, “Brothers and sisters, let us acknowledge our sins and so prepare ourselves to celebrate these Sacred Mysteries.” When we humbly confess our sins, we are preparing ourselves to encounter the Lord Jesus, to be recreated in His mercy and thereby prepared to live as faithful, missionary disciples of Jesus.
You and I can learn a great deal from the Canaanite mother’s faith. She inspires us to persevere, even when God seems not to be listening, even when God says things we do not understand. Antoine de Saint-Exupery wrote: “You enter God’s apprenticeship only by persevering in prayers that are not answered… By its very essence, love is only thirst for love… Prayer is fruitful to the extent that God does not answer it.”
When we pray, let us not seek to change God’s mind. Rather, let us seek to be in His Presence, to beg for His mercy, and to say as Mary did, “Let it be done to me according to your word.”
