Gospel: The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

Matthew 15:21-28
    At that time Jesus went from thence, and retired into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And behold a woman of Canaan who came out of those coasts, crying out, said to him: Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David: my daughter is grievously troubled by the devil. Who answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying: Send her away, for she crieth after us: And he answering, said: I was not sent but to the sheep that are lost of the house of Israel. But she came and adored him, saying: Lord, help me. Who answering, said: It is not good to take the bread of the children, and to cast it to the dogs. But she said: Yea, Lord; for the whelps also eat of the crumbs that fall from the table of their masters. Then Jesus answering, said to her: O woman, great is thy faith: be it done to thee as thou wilt: and her daughter was cured from that hour.

Today, on the Thursday after the First Sunday of Lent, we have another Gospel emphasizing how pleased Our Lord is with great and humble faith.  The woman is a Gentile, and at first Our Lord ignores her pleas and cries.  Then He tells her that the bread of the children is not for dogs.  In all humility, she says: even the little dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the table.  She recognizes her place: she knows she is nothing and deserves nothing.  But so great is her faith, she comes to Jesus and asks: Lord, help me.  Jesus, pleased with her sincere and humble faith, grants her request.

We, too, must recognize our proper place in relation to God: that we are nothing and can do nothing without God.

In Divine Intimacy, Fr. Gabriel devotes a day next week (during the second week of Lent) to "Our Place."  He gives a beautiful explanation of humility:

"Humility keeps us in our own place.  Humility is truth: it tends to establish in truth both our intellect -- by making us know ourselves as we really are -- and our life, by inclining us to take, in relation to God and to men, our proper place and no other."

Humility makes us realize that, in the sight of God, we are only His little creature, entirely dependent upon him for our existence and for all our works.  Having received life from God, we cannot subsist even one moment independently from Him.  He who gave us existence by His creative action, maintains life in us by His conserving action.  In addition, we cannot perform the slightest act without God's cooperation..."

Here are some more worthwhile quotes about humility:

"If a man give his whole substance, still it is nothing. And if he do great penance, it is but little. And if he attain to all knowledge, he is far off still. And if he had great virtue and very fervent devotion, there is still much wanting to him, namely, the one thing which is supremely necessary for him. That is, having left all things else, he leave also himself and wholly goes out of himself, and retain nothing of self love. And when he shall have done all things which he knows he ought to do, let him think that he has done nothing. Let him not make great account of that which may appear much to be esteemed, but let him in truth acknowledge himself to be an unprofitable servant. Then may he be truly poor in spirit. There is no one richer than such a man, none more powerful, none more free; who knows how to leave himself in all things, and to put himself in the very lowest place.” —  Imitation of Christ

To esteem thyself is to forget what thou art. Consider thyself in reference to God; reflect on what He is and what thou art in His sight... If thou art truly wise, thou wilt rejoice in God alone, thou wilt hope in God alone; for none is good but God alone, Who is to be praised above all and to be blessed in all.

“My efforts, by themselves, are nothing, absolutely nothing. ‘Without Me you can do nothing.’ They will only be useful, and blessed by God, if by means of a genuine interior life I unite them constantly to the life-giving actions of Jesus. But then they will become all-powerful: ‘I can do all things in Him who strengthens me.’ But should they spring from pride and self-satisfaction, from confidence in my own talents, from the desire to shine, they will be rejected by God: for would it not be a sacrilegious madness for me to steal, from God, a little of His glory in order to decorate and beautify myself?” - Jean-Baptise Chautard, The Soul of the Apostolate

“Humility is the hardest but most necessary lesson every Christian has to learn. Many times, we wonder why God permits hardships and failures. Many times, He does so because it is the only way we will learn that we are limited, that we are not God. Substantial humility is the habitual and joyful awareness that we are utterly dependent on God for all things, from the most sublime to the most mundane.” - Fr. John Bartunek, The Better Part

“Although I am but dust and ashes, shall I speak to You, O Lord? Yes, from this vale of tears, from this place of exile, I dare to raise my eyes and fix them on You... O good God, have pity on the work of Your hands. I am incapable, Lord, of formulating by myself any good thought, since all my sufficiency comes from You; nor can I worthily invoke Your name without the help of the Holy Spirit. May it please You, then, to send me Your Spirit, in order that the rays of Your light may shine down upon me from the height of heaven.” -St. Peter of Alcantara

“Lord, You see how often I fail, but I am never astonished at it ... I enter into myself and say: Alas, I am once more at the first step as before! But I say this in great peace without sadness, because I know that You know perfectly how fragile is our nature and You are always ready to help us. What, then, shall I fear? As soon as You see me fully convinced of my nothingness, You stretch out Your hand to me; but if I should try to do something great, even under the pretext of zeal, You desert me. So all I have to do is humble myself, to bear with meekness my imperfections. Herein lies, for me, true holiness.” - St. Teresa of Avila

From My Daily Bread; Chapter 66, Foolish Pride:

“Whatever good things you possess, do not think too highly of yourself. Let God be your treasure and let everything else take second place. Whether you are rich, or powerful, or popular, or attractive, remember the plain truth about yourself and you will not become a victim of foolish pride. Whatever good is in you belongs to God. The things of which men so often boast, are God’s. Their talents, abilities, and circumstances, God placed them at their disposal. He could have just as easily given these gifts to someone else. Beware of becoming too proud of your deeds; without God, you can do nothing.

You are completely dependent on God for your next breath. This knowledge should make you fear all pride and self-satisfaction. You can never be impressed deeply enough by your nothingness. Of yourself, and without God’s gifts, you are nothing. This fact is the basis of all humility. Pride is based on false self-esteem.

My God, lover of truth, only you are great by Your very nature. All other greatness, virtue, and goodness are Your gifts to us. Have mercy on this proud heart of mine. Please impress me with the truth of my nothingness. Then will I, at last, become kind, considerate, and charitable to those around me. Grant me your grace, dear Lord, and I will never again, in thought or action, raise myself above anyone else. Kill the pride within me, even if you have to humble me before others. Only spare me the terrible humiliation of having the whole world see my ugly pride at the Last Judgement. Amen.”