True faith makes one pray in a humble and persevering way

Roman Rite – XX Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year A – August 16, 2026

Is 56:1.6-7; Ps 66; Rom 11:13-15:29-32; Mt 15:21-28

 

Ambrosian Rite – X Sunday after Pentecost

1 Kings 8:15-30; Ps 47; 1 Cor 3:10-17; Mk 12:41-44

 

1) Faith abolishes distances.

In the aftermath of the Feast of the Assumption, in which the protagonist is Our Lady, this year this Sunday liturgy offers to our meditation the figure of another woman as protagonist with Christ of a miracle. She is from Canaan, therefore for the Jews including Jesus, she is a foreigner. 

The distance from Christ on the part of the Canaanite woman was external. She had to make a long journey to overcome the centuries of paganism that objectively separated her from salvation. However, between us baptized and the Lord there is often an internal distance. It is the barrier of our spiritual laziness and mediocrity that prevents any contact. If only we could not shut ourselves away in times of difficulty in life but continue to ask, seek and beg God, we would have the opportunity to have our questions answered and to get what serves the true good of ourselves and those we love

It happened to the Canaanite. The signs that accompanied Jesus drove her to Him. She learned about Jesus, she listened to the announcement that gives faith, because faith comes from preaching (Rom 10:17), she felt her heart pierced, and she ran to the source of Life. A pagan woman embarks on a journey of salvation driven by listening to an announcement and by the desire to give health back to her child. It is the principle of the transition from slavery to freedom. The occasion made her bold. Love for her daughter, until then impotent, met the Love which is Life, Health and Salvation. This mother has traveled a long way, humiliating herself between the contempt of the “children” of Israel and the shameful infirmity of her daughter. She has seen that her love as a mother is incapable of helping, of giving meaning to existence. There is no greater suffering than a mother's love strangled in the helplessness of becoming salvation for her children. 

This woman, who asked for the miracle of healing for her daughter, had enormous courage, because she knew that being a woman and a foreigner was a major obstacle to accepting her request for mercy.

She was a woman and this for the ancients, but not for the Bible, was “a necessary evil”. Moreover, she was not Jewish, she was Canaanite, of the lineage of Ham, the son who had an attitude of contempt towards his father Noah and was cursed by him[1]

For Jesus, the fact that the Canaanite woman was a woman was not an objection, but a blessing. As it was from the beginning, and continues to be, womanhood is a divine blessing, so He “was born of Woman (Gal 4:4,). The second objection is dissolved by Christ like snow in the sun: He asks, then as now, for faith. 

It is no coincidence that in the New Testament faith comes first from women: the Virgin Mary - who is “type”[2] of faith par excellence, her cousin Elizabeth, the prophetess Anna, the disciples - in particular Mary Magdalene - who follow Jesus wherever he goes, the women met by St. Paul (cf.  Rom16), Lydia at Philippi, to whom the Lord opened his heart to the Gospel brought by the Apostles (cf. Acts 16:14) and the “many women and not a few men” (Acts 17:12) of Thessalonica, as well as Damarides, the Athenian woman who believed after Paul's speech at the Areopagus (Acts17:34), and Priscilla with her husband Aquila in Corinth (Acts 18:2).

This “blessed” Canaanite woman goes to meet Jesus and cries out to Him “Have pity on me” (Mt 15, 22). Literally translating, this prayer sounds like this: “Have pity on me, Lord, son of David.” However, it almost seems that the Messiah is not moved by this cry and gives a harsh response, at least on the surface, comparing this woman and her demon-possessed daughter to the “little dogs”. The Canaanite acknowledges her situation of misery and alienation, but maternal love pushes her and she dares an intelligent and faith-filled response, which can be translated as follows: “But yes, Lord. In fact, even little dogs eat from the crumbs that fall from their owners' tables”, therefore even those who are considered as dogs have “the right” to “their owners' bread”. 

The Canaanite passed the exam, offering Christ the confession that comes from her heart as a mother. Jesus' heart was waiting for this, and he addresses the Canaanite with the noble title of “Woman (= Lady)”. 

By her faith this woman recovered her dignity as daughter of God in the Son of God, and, by virtue of her faith, this dignity was communicated to the fruit of her womb: her daughter was freed from the devil who disfigured her image and likeness.

Let us ask the Lord for this same faith and remember that women are considered a blessing by the Lord. In commentary on this sentence, I quote what St. John Paul II wrote in his Letter to Women: 

“The Church "desires to give thanks to the Most Holy Trinity for the 'mystery of woman' and for every woman-for all that constitutes the eternal measure of her feminine dignity, for the 'great works of God', which throughout human history have been accomplished in and through her" (No. 31).This word of thanks to the Lord for his mysterious plan regarding the vocation and mission of women in the world is at the same time a concrete and direct word of thanks to women, to every woman, for all that they represent in the life of humanity.

Thank you, women who are mothers! You have sheltered human beings within yourselves in a unique experience of joy and travail. This experience makes you become God's own smile upon the newborn child, the one who guides your child's first steps, who helps it to grow, and who is the anchor as the child makes its way along the journey of life.

Thank you, women who are wives! You irrevocably join your future to that of your husbands, in a relationship of mutual giving, at the service of love and life.

Thank you, women who are daughters and women who are sisters! Into the heart of the family, and then of all society, you bring the richness of your sensitivity, your intuitiveness, your generosity and fidelity.

Thank you, women who work! You are present and active in every area of life-social, economic, cultural, artistic and political. In this way you make an indispensable contribution to the growth of a culture which unites reason and feeling, to a model of life ever open to the sense of "mystery", to the establishment of economic and political structures ever more worthy of humanity.

Thank you, consecrated women! Following the example of the greatest of women, the Mother of Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word, you open yourselves with obedience and fidelity to the gift of God's love. You help the Church and all mankind to experience a "spousal" relationship to God, one which magnificently expresses the fellowship which God wishes to establish with his creatures.

(In this respect it is useful for the consecrated Virgins in the world to constantly meditate on the answers they gave to the Bishop during the rite of consecration: ‘Do you want to persevere all your life in the decision of consecrated virginity in the service of the Lord and His Church?’ - ‘Yes, we want that.’ ‘Do you want to follow Christ according to the Gospel in such a way that your life appears as a testimony of love and a sign of the Kingdom to come?’ – ‘Yes, we want that’. ‘Do you want to be consecrated to the Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Most High God, and recognize him as your husband?’ – ‘Yes, we want it’. Then the Bishop and the Assembly say: ‘Let us give thanks to God’ – Ritual of the Consecration of Virgins, No. 17).

Thank you, every woman, for the simple fact of being a woman! Through insight, which is so much a part of your womanhood, you enrich the world's understanding and help to make human relations more honest and authentic. […] May Mary, Queen of Love, watch over women and their mission in service of humanity, of peace, of the spread of God's Kingdom!” (LETTER OF POPE John PAUL II TO WOMEN, 1995).

 

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[1] As emerges, for example, from this quote: “Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves

  he be to his brothers.” He also said: “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem! Let Canaan be his slave.”

 (Gen 9:25-27). This curse was confirmed throughout time, as we read, for example, in Deuteronomy 7:2, where it is written not to be merciful towards the Canaanites.

[2] Our Lady is the highest example of faith and humility, virtues that must characterize our approach to the Mystery of the Incarnation.

La vraie foi fait prier d’une manière humble et persévérante

Rite Romain – 20^ème Dimanche du Temps Ordinaire – Année A – 16 août 2026

Is 56,1.6-7 ; Ps 66 ; Rm 11,13-15.29-32 ; Mth 15,21-28

 

Rite Ambroisien – X Dimanche après Pentecôte 

1Rois 8,15-30; Ps 47; 1Co 3,10-17; Mc 12,41-44 

 

            1) La foi abolit les distances.

            

Hier nous avons célébré la fête de l’Assomption, dont l’actrice principale est Marie. Aujourd’hui la liturgie offre à notre médiation l’image d’une autre femme qui est avec le Christ la protagoniste d’un miracle. Elle est originaire de Canaan et, donc, elle est pour les Juifs, Jésus compris, une femme étrangère. 

En réalité la distance entre le Christ et la cananéenne est extérieure. En effet elle devait faire un long chemin pour franchir les limites des siècles de paganisme qui la séparaient objectivement du salut. 

 

Par contre, entre nous, les baptisés, et le Seigneur il y a souvent une distance intérieure qui est due à la barrière de notre paresse spirituelle et de notre médiocrité qui empêchent le contact. Si seulement on arrivait à ne pas nous enfermer en nous-mêmes dans les moments de difficultés de la vie, et on continuait à demander, à rechercher et à supplier Dieu, on aurait la possibilité de voir exaucées nos prières et obtenir ce qui est un vrai bien pour nous et pour ceux que l’on aime.

Et en effet ce fut ainsi pour la cananéenne. Les signes qui accompagnaient Jésus, l’on poussait vers Lui. Elle était venue à connaissance de la renommée de Jésus ; elle avait écouté l’annonce qui donne la foi, car la foi vient de la prédication (Rm 10,17), son cœur a été transpercé par la Vérité, et elle se hâta de rejoindre la Source de la Vie. 

Mue par l’écoute d’une annonce et poussée par le désir de redonner la santé à sa fille, une païenne entreprend un chemin de salut. On peut voir là le principe du passage de l’esclavage à la liberté. C’est bien l’occasion qui l’a rendue audacieuse. L’amour de sa fille, qui jusqu’à ce moment-là avait été impuissant, rencontra cet Amour qui est Vie, santé et Salut. Cette mère a parcouru un chemin très long, en s’humiliant entre le mépris des « fils » d’Israël et la honteuse maladie de sa fille. Elle s’est aperçue que son amour de mère est incapable d’aider et de donner un sens à l’existence. Il n’y pas de souffrance plus grande que celle d’un amour de mère étranglé par l’impuissance de devenir salut pour ses enfants. 

Cette femme, qui demanda le miracle de la guérison pour sa fille, eut un immense courage car elle savait que d’être une femme étrangère était une grosse entrave pour la satisfaction de sa requête de grâce.

Elle était une femme, et ceci pour les anciens (mais à vrai dire cette considération ne vaut pas pour la bible) était un « mal nécessaire ». De plus non seulement elle n’était pas juive, mais elle était aussi cananéenne, c’est-à-dire de la descende maudite de Cam : celui qui eut une attitude de dédain envers son père Noé, qui pour cela le maudit[1].

 

Pour Jésus le fait que la Cananéenne soit une femme n’était pas une objection, mais une bénédiction. Comme le fut au commencement, et ceci continue à être vrai encore de nos jours, la femme est une bénédiction divine. C’est bien pour cette raison qu’Il est « né d’une femme » (Gal 4,4). La deuxième objection est dissoute par le Christ comme la neige qui fond au soleil. Et cela ce fait - hier comme aujourd’hui - d’une seul manière : le Christ nous demande la foi.

 

            Ce n’est pas par hasard que dans le Nouveau Testament la foi provienne avant tout des femmes: la Vierge Marie – qui le « type[2] », la figure pour excellence de la foi, sa cousine Elisabeth, la prophétesse Anne, les disciples (femmes) – notamment Marie-Madeleine  - qui suivent Jésus partout ; ou encore les femmes rencontrées par Saint Paul ( Rm 16) ; Lydie à Philippes, à laquelle le Seigneur ouvra le cœur à l’Evangile annoncé par les Apôtres (At 16,14) ; beaucoup de« dames de qualité et bon nombre d'hommes» (At 17, 12) de Thessalonique et de Damaris; la femme athénienne qui crut après avoir entendu le discours de Paul à l’Aréopage (At 17, 34), et Priscille avec son marie Aquilas à Corinthe (At 18, 2).

 

 

            2) La pitié divine et celle humaine.   

Cette « bénie » femme cananéenne va à la rencontre de Jésus et s’écrie : « Aie pitié de moi, Seigneur » (Mth 15, 22). Si l’on traduisait littéralement, on devrait écrire : « apitoie-toi de moi, Seigneur, Fils de David ». Cependant, il semble presque que le Messie ne se laisse pas émouvoir par ce cri et donc il donne une réponse qui tout d’abord apparaît assez dure; en effet il compare la femme cananéenne et sa fille malmenée par un démon avec les « petits chiens ». Cette femme alors reconnaît sa situation de misère et d’étrangeté, mais l’amour maternel la pousse jusqu’à oser une réponse intelligente et pleine de foi, que l’on peut ainsi traduire : « Mais oui, Seigneur ! En effet aussi les petits chiens mangent les miettes qui tombent de la table de leurs maîtres ». De ce fait, même ceux qui sont considérés comme des chiens on le « droit » au « pain des maîtres ». 

            

La Cananéenne a passé l’examen, en offrant au Christ la confession qui naît de son cœur de mère. Le cœur de Jésus n’attendait que ça et s’adresse à la Cananéenne avec le titre nobiliaire de : « Ô Dame (du lat. Domina, d’où le titre à la           Vierge Marie de Notre-Dame) ».

 

            À travers sa foi cette femme a récupéré sa dignité de fille de Dieu en le Fils de Dieu ; et grâce a sa foi cette dignité a été communiquée aussi au fruit de ses entrailles : sa fille donc a été libérée du démon qui défigurait son image et ressemblance à Dieu.

Demandons au Seigneur cette même foi et gardons à l’esprit que les femmes sont données par Dieu comme une bénédiction. Après cette réflexion je cite une phrase de la lettre de Saint Jean-Paul II aux femmes :  

« L'Église — écrivais-je dans la lettre apostolique Mulieris dignitatem — « désire remercier la Très Sainte Trinité pour le "mystère de la femme" et pour toute femme, pour ce qui constitue la dimension éternelle de sa dignité féminine, pour les "merveilles" de Dieu qui, dans l'histoire des générations humaines, se sont accomplies en elle et par elle » (n. 31).

Le merci adressé au Seigneur pour son dessein sur la vocation et la mission de la femme dans le monde devient aussi un merci concret et direct aux femmes, à chacune des femmes, pour ce qu'elles représentent dans la vie de l'humanité.

Merci à toi, femme-mère, qui accueilles en ton sein l'être humain dans la joie et dans la peine d'une expérience unique par laquelle tu deviens sourire de Dieu pour l'enfant qui vient au monde, tu deviens le guide de ses premiers pas, le soutien de sa croissance, puis le point de repère sur le chemin de sa vie.

Merci à toi, femme-épouse, qui unis d'une façon irrévocable ton destin à celui d'un homme, dans une relation de don réciproque, au service de la communion et de la vie.

Merci à toi, femme-fille et femme-sœur, qui apportes au foyer familial puis dans le complexe de la vie sociale les richesses de ta sensibilité, de ton intuition, de ta générosité et de ta constance.

Merci à toi, femme-au-travail, engagée dans tous les secteurs de la vie sociale, économique, culturelle, artistique, politique, pour ta contribution irremplaçable à l'élaboration d'une culture qui puisse allier la raison et le sentiment, à une conception de la vie toujours ouverte au sens du « mystère », à l'édification de structures économiques et politiques humainement plus riches.

Merci à toi, femme-consacrée, qui, à la suite de la plus grande des femmes, la Mère du Christ, Verbe incarné, t'ouvres en toute docilité et fidélité à l'amour de Dieu, aidant ainsi l'Église et l'humanité entière à donner à Dieu une réponse « sponsale » qui exprime merveilleusement la communion qu'il veut établir avec sa créature. (A ce propos il est utile pour les Vierges consacrées dans le Monde méditer constamment les réponses qu’elles ont données à l’Evêque pendant le rite de la consécration : « L'Evêque appelle la candidate qui répond : "me voici". Puis suit un dialogue entre l'Evêque et la candidate : Voulez-vous persévérer toute votre vie dans votre résolution de virginité consacrée au service du Seigneur et de son Eglise ? - Oui, je le veux. - Voulez-vous suivre le Christ selon l'Evangile de telle sorte que votre vie apparaisse comme un témoignage d'amour et le signe du Royaume à venir? - : Oui, je le veux. - Voulez-vous être consacrée au Seigneur Jésus Christ, le fils du Dieu Très-Haut, et Le reconnaître comme votre Epoux ? - Oui, je le veux », n. 17).

Merci à toi, femme, pour le seul fait d'être femme ! Par la perception propre à ta féminité, tu enrichis la compréhension du monde et tu contribues à la pleine vérité des relations humaines.

Que Marie, Reine de l'amour, veille sur les femmes et sur leur mission au service de l'humanité, de la paix, de la diffusion du Règne de Dieu! » (Lettre du Pape Jean-Paul II aux femmes, 29 juin 1995).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lecture patristique

Saint Jean Chrysostome (v. 345-407),

Evêque d’Antioche, puis de Constantinople

Docteur de l’Eglise

Homélie « Que le Christ soit annoncé », 12-13; PG 51, 319-320

 

La prière humble et incessante 

 

Une Cananéenne s’approcha de Jésus et se mit à le supplier à grands cris pour sa fille qui était possédée par le démon… Cette femme, une étrangère, une barbare, sans aucun lien avec la communauté juive, qu’était-elle sinon une chienne indigne d’obtenir ce qu’elle demandait ? « Il n’est pas bien, dit Jésus, de prendre le pain des enfants pour le donner aux petits chiens. »

Pourtant, sa persévérance lui a mérité d’être exaucée. Celle qui n’était qu’une chienne, Jésus l’a élevée à la noblesse des petits enfants ; bien plus, il l’a comblée d’éloges. Il lui dit en la renvoyant : « Femme, ta foi est grande, que tout se fasse pour toi comme tu le veux » (Mth 15,28).

Quand on entend le Christ dire : « Ta foi est grande », on n’a pas à chercher d’autre preuve de la grandeur d’âme de cette femme. Vois comme elle a effacé son indignité par sa persévérance. Remarque également que nous obtenons davantage du Seigneur par notre prière que par la prière des autres.

 

Saint Bède le Vénérable (v.673 – 735)

Moine, docteur de l’Eglise

Homélie sur les Evangiles, I, 22 : CCL 122, 156-160 ; PL 94, 102-105

 

La de la femme cananéenne (Syro-phénicienne)

 

« Ô femme, grande est ta foi ! Qu'il te soit fait comme tu le souhaites » (Mt 15,28). Oui, la Cananéenne possède une bien grande foi. Ne connaissant ni les anciens prophètes ni les récents miracles du Seigneur, ni ses commandements ni ses promesses, et de plus repoussée par lui, elle persévère dans sa demande et elle ne se lasse pas de frapper chez celui que seule la renommée lui avait indiquée comme le Sauveur. Aussi sa prière est exaucée de manière éclatante...

      Lorsque l'un d'entre nous a la conscience entachée par l'égoïsme, l'orgueil, la vaine gloire, le dédain, la colère, la jalousie ou quelque autre vice, il a bel et bien, comme cette femme de Canaan, « une fille cruellement tourmentée par un démon ». Qu'il coure donc supplier le Seigneur de la guérir... Qu'il le fasse avec une humble soumission ; qu'il ne se juge pas digne de partager le sort des brebis d'Israël, c'est-à-dire des âmes pures, et qu'il se considère comme indigne des récompenses du ciel. Que le désespoir, cependant, ne le pousse pas à relâcher l'insistance de sa prière mais que son coeur ait une confiance inébranlable en l'immense bonté du Seigneur. Car celui qui a pu faire du larron un confesseur (Lc 24,39s), du persécuteur un apôtre (Ac 9), et de simples cailloux des fils d'Abraham (Mt 3,9), celui-là est aussi capable de transformer un petit chien en brebis d'Israël.

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[1] « Il dit : « Maudit soit Canaan ! Il sera pour ses frères l’esclave des esclaves. » Et il ajouta : « Béni soit le Seigneur, le Dieu de Sem ! Que Canaan soit son esclave ! » (Gn 9, 25-27). En cette malédiction Cam est aussi Canaan; et cette malédiction fut confirmée au cours des siècles: e.g.Deut 7,2 (où il est écrit de ne pas faire grâce aux Cananéens).

[2] La Vierge Marie est le type (paradigme) de la foi, car elle demeure type de la rencontre entre l’homme et Dieu et elle représente depuis l’annonciation la situation foncière de l’homme devant Dieu. La Vierge Marie est le type de la foi et de l’humilité qui doivent caractériser notre accès au Mystère de l’Incarnation.

La fede vera fa pregare in modo umile e perseverante.

Rito Romano – XX Domenica del Tempo Ordinario – Anno A – 16 agosto 2026

Is 56,1.6-7; Sal 66; Rm 11,13-15.29-32; Mt 15,21-28

 

Rito Ambrosiano – X Domenica dopo Pentecoste

1Re 8,15-30; Sal 47; 1Cor 3,10-17; Mc 12,41-44

 

            1) La fede abolisce le distanze.

            All’indomani della Festa dell’Assunzione, in cui la protagonista è la Madonna, quest’anno la liturgia domenicale offre alla nostra meditazione la figura di un’altra donna come protagonista con Cristo di un miracolo. E’ originaria di Canaan, quindi per gli Ebrei, Gesù compreso, è una straniera. 

            La distanza da Cristo da parte della Cananea era esteriore. Doveva fare un lungo cammino per superare secoli di paganesimo che la separavano oggettivamente dalla salvezza. Fra noi battezzati e il Signore invece c’è spesso una distanza interiore dovuta alla barriera della nostra pigrizia spirituale e mediocrità a impedire il contatto. Se solo riuscissimo a non chiuderci in noi stessi nei momenti di difficoltà nella vita ma continuassimo invece a chiedere, cercare e supplicare Dio, avremmo la possibilità di vedere esaudite le nostre domande e ottenere quello che serve al vero bene nostro e di chi amiamo. 

            Così infatti è accaduto alla Cananea. I segni che accompagnavano Gesù l’hanno spinta da Lui. Lei ha saputo di Gesù, ha ascoltato l'annuncio che dona la fede, perchè la fede viene dalla predicazione (Rm 10,17), si è sentita trafiggere il cuore, ed è corsa alla fonte della Vita. Una pagana intraprende un cammino di salvezza mossa dall’ascolto di un annuncio e spinta dal desiderio di ridare la slaute alla figlis. E’ il principio del passaggio dalla schiavitù alla libertà. L’occasione l’ha resa audace. L’amore per la figlia, sino allora impotente, incontrò l’Amore che è Vita, salute e Salvezza. Molto cammino ha percorso questa madre, umiliandosi tra il disprezzo dei “figli” d'Israele e la vergognosa infermità della figlia. Lei ha visto che il suo amore di madre è incapace di aiutare, di dare senso all'esistenza. Non c'è sofferenza più grande di un amore di madre strozzato nell’impotenza di farsi salvezza per i propri figli. 

            Questa donna, che chiese il miracolo della guarigione per sua figlia, ebbe un coraggio enorme, perché sapeva che il fatto di essere donna e straniera era un grosso ostacolo all’accoglimento della sua domanda di grazia.

            Era donna e questo per gli antichi, ma non per la Bibbia, era “un male necessario”, e non solo non era ebrea, era Cananea, della discendenza di Cam, il figlio che ebbe un atteggimento di disprezzo verso suo padre Noé e da questi maledetto[1].

            Per Gesù il fatto che la Cananea fosse una donna non era un’obiezione, ma una benedizione. Come fu dall’inizio, e continua ad essere ancora, la donna è una benedizione divina, per cui Lui “è nato da Donna (Gal 4,4,). La seconda obiezione è sciolta da Cristo come neve al sole in un unico modo: Lui chiede, allora come oggi, la fede. 

            Non è per caso che nel Nuovo Testamento la fede venga innazitutto dalle donne: la Vergine Maria- che è “il tipo”[2] per eccellenza della fede, sua cugina Elisabetta, la profetessa Anna, le discepole - in particolare Maria Maddalena - che seguono Gesù ovunque vada, le donne incontrate da San Paolo (cfr Rm 16), Lidia a Filippi, alla quale il Signore aprì il cuore al Vangelo portato degli Apostoli (cfr At 16,14) e le “molte donne e i non pochi uomini” (At 17, 12) di Tessalonica, come pure Damaride, la donna ateniese che credette dopo il discorso di Paolo all’Areopago (At 17, 34), e Priscilla con il marito Aquila a Corinto (At 18, 2).

            Questa “benedetta donna” cananea va incontro a Gesù e Gli grida “Pietà di me” (Mt 15, 22). Traducendo letterlamente, questa preghiera suona così: “Impietosisciti di me, Signore, figlio di Davide”. Tuttavia sembra quasi che il Messia non si lasci commuovere da questo grido e dà una risposta dura, almeno all’apparenza, paragonando questa donna e sua figlia indemoniata ai “cagnolini”. La Cananea riconosce la sua situazione di miseria e di estraneità, ma l’amore materno la spinge ed osa una risposta intelligente e piena di fede, che si può tradurre così: “Ma sì, Signore. Infatti anche i cagnolini mangiano dalle briciole che cadono dalla tavole dei loro padroni”, perciò anche quelli che sono considerati come cani hanno “diritto” al “pane dei padroni”. 

            La Cananea ha superato l’esame, offrendo a Cristo la confessione che nasce dal suo cuore di madre. Il cuore di Gesù non attendeva che questo e si rivolge alla Cananea con il titolo nobiliare di: “Donna (= Signora)”. 

            Con la sua fede questa donna ha recuperato la sua dignità di figlia di Dio nel Figlio di Dio e, in forza della sua fede, questa dignità è stata comunicata al frutto del suo grembo: sua figlia è stata liberata dal demonio che ne deturpava l’immagine e somiglianza.

            Domandiamo al Signore questa stessa fede e ricordiamo che le donne sono poste come benedizione dal Signore. A commento di questa frase cito quanto San Giovanni Paolo II ha scritto nella sua Lettera alle donne: 

            “La Chiesa - affermavo nella Lettera apostolica Mulieris dignitatem - « desidera ringraziare la santissima Trinità per il “mistero della donna”, e, per ogni donna, per ciò che costituisce l'eterna misura della sua dignità femminile, per le “grandi opere di Dio” che nella storia delle generazioni umane si sono compiute in lei e per mezzo di lei » (n. 31).

Il grazie al Signore per il suo disegno sulla vocazione e la missione delle donna nel mondo, diventa anche un concreto e diretto grazie alle donne, a ciascuna donna, per ciò che essa rappresenta nella vita dell'umanità.



            Grazie a te, donna-madre, che ti fai grembo dell'essere umano nella gioia e nel travaglio di un'esperienza unica, che ti rende sorriso di Dio per il bimbo che viene alla luce, ti fa guida dei suoi primi passi, sostegno della sua crescita, punto di riferimento nel successivo cammino della vita.



            Grazie a te, donna-sposa, che unisci irrevocabilmente il tuo destino a quello di un uomo, in un rapporto di reciproco dono, a servizio della comunione e della vita.



            Grazie a te, donna-figlia e donna-sorella, che porti nel nucleo familiare e poi nel complesso della vita sociale le ricchezze della tua sensibilità, della tua intuizione, della tua generosità e della tua costanza.



            Grazie a te, donna-lavoratrice, impegnata in tutti gli ambiti della vita sociale, economica, culturale, artistica, politica, per l'indispensabile contributo che dai all'elaborazione di una cultura capace di coniugare ragione e sentimento, ad una concezione della vita sempre aperta al senso del « mistero », alla edificazione di strutture economiche e politiche più ricche di umanità.



            Grazie a te, donna-consacrata, che sull'esempio della più grande delle donne, la Madre di Cristo, Verbo incarnato, ti apri con docilità e fedeltà all'amore di Dio, aiutando la Chiesa e l'intera umanità a vivere nei confronti di Dio una risposta « sponsale », che esprime meravigliosamente la comunione che Egli vuole stabilire con la sua creatura.
(A questo riguardo è utile per le Vergine consacrate nel mondo meditare costantemente le risposte che hanno dato al Vescovo durante il  rito della consacrazione: ‘Volete perseverare tutta la vostra vita nella decisone della verginità consacrata al servizio del Signore e della Sua Chiesa?’ - ‘Sì, lo vogliamo’. ‘Volete seguire Cristo secondo il Vangelo in modo tale che la vostra vita appaia come una testionianza d’amore e segno del Regno che verrà?’ – ‘Sì, lo vogliamo’. ‘Volete essere consacrate al Signore Gesù Cristo, Figlio del Dio Altissimo, e riconoscerlo come vostro sposo?’ – ‘Sì, lo vogliamo’. Allora il Vescovo e l’Assemblea dicono: ‘Rendiamo grazie a Dio’ – Rituale della Consacrazione delle vergini, n. 17).

            Grazie a te, donna, per il fatto stesso che sei donna! Con la percezione che è propria della tua femminilità tu arricchisci la comprensione del mondo e contribuisci alla piena verità dei rapporti umani. […]

Vegli Maria, Regina dell'amore, sulle donne e sulla loro missione al servizio dell'umanità, della pace, della diffusione del Regno di Dio!” (Lettera alle donne, 1995).

 

 

Letture Patristiche

San Giovanni Crisostomo (circa 345-407),

Vescovo d'Antiochia poi di Costantinopoli, Dottore della Chiesa

Omelia « Cristo sia annunziato », 12-13; PG 51, 319-320

 

 

La preghiera umile e insistente

 

 

Una donna Cananèa, si avvicinò a Gesù e si mise a supplicarlo a gran voce per sua figlia posseduta da uno spirito immondo... Che altro era questa donna, straniera, barbara, senza alcun legame con la comunità ebraica, se non una cagna indegna di ottenere ciò che domandava ? « Non è bene, dice Gesù, prendere il pane dei figli e gettarlo ai cagnolini ». Eppure la sua perseveranza le ha meritato di essere esaudita. Colei che era considerata non più di una cagna, è stata innalzata da Gesù alla dignità dei figli ; anzi egli l'ha colmata di elogi. Le disse, mentre la congedava : « Donna, davvero grande è la tua fede ! Ti sia fatto come desideri » (Mt 15, 28). Quando udiamo Cristo dire : « La tua fede è grande », non dobbiamo cercare altrove altre prove della grandezza di animo di questa donna. Vedi come lei ha cancellato la sua indegnità con la sua perseveranza. Inoltre, nota che otteniamo di più dal Signore con la nostra preghiera che con la preghiera degli altri.

 

 

 

 

San Beda il Venerabile (circa 673-735),

Monaco, Dottore della Chiesa

Omelie sui Vangeli I, 22

CCL 122, 156-160 ; PL 94, 102-105

 

 

La fede della donna sirofenicia

 

 

«Donna, davvero grande è la tua fede! Ti sia fatto come desideri» (Mt 15,28). Sì, la donna sirofenicia possiede una grandissima fede. Pur non conoscendo né gli antichi profeti, né i recenti miracoli del Signore, né i suoi comandamenti né le sue promesse, anzi, respinta da lui, persevera nella sua domanda e non si stanca di bussare alla porta di colui che per fama gli era stato indicato come salvatore. Perciò la sua preghiera viene esaudita in modo visibile e immediato...

 

 

Quando uno di noi ha la coscienza macchiata dall'egoismo, dalla superbia, dalla vana gloria, dal disprezzo, dall'ira, dalla gelosia o da qualche altra passione, ha proprio, come quella donna di Canaan, «una figlia crudelmente tormentata da un demonio». Che corra dunque a supplicare il Signore affinché egli la guarisca... Che faccia questo con umile sottomissione; che non ritenga se stesso degno di condividere la sorte delle pecore di Israele, cioè delle anime pure, invece che giudichi se stesso indegno delle ricompense del cielo. La disperazione, tuttavia, non lo spinga ad allentare l'insistenza della sua preghiera, ma che il suo cuore abbia una fiducia incrollabile nell'immensa bontà del Signore. Infatti, colui che ha potuto fare dal ladrone un confessore della fede (Lc 23,39), dal persecutore un apostolo (Ac 9), e da pietre dei figli di Abramo (Mt 3,1), è anche capace di trasformare un cagnolino in una pecora di Israele.

 

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[1] Come emerge, per esempio, da questa citazione: “Maledetto Canaan! Servo dei servi dei fratelli suoi sussista. Benedetto il Signore Dio di Sem, e sia Cam servi di essi. Jafet, Dio lo estenda, ed abiti nelle tende di Sem e sia Canaan servo di essi” (Gn 9, 25-27). Questa maledizione fu confermata lungo i tempi, come si legge, per es., in Deuteronomio 7, 2, dove c’è scritto di non fare grazia ai Cananei.

[2] La Madonna è l’esempio più alto della fede e dell’umiltà, virtù che devono caratterizzare il nostro accostarci al Mistero dell'Incarnazione.

The Assumption of Mary reminds us of our destiny of fullness of life in the communion with God.

Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary - August 15, 2026

 

Ap 11.19a; 12,1-6a.10ab; Ps 45; 1 Cor 15.20-27a; Lk 1: 39-56

 

 

Introduction.

With the celebration of the solemnity of the Assumption the Church invites us to contemplate the synthesis of our Christian life. In fact, in the glorification of Mary we contemplate the destiny of joy that awaits all our lives, will gather all our expectations and will give fulfillment of all our labors, our work and our desire for everlasting peace.

            The Church invites us to contemplate this mystery because it shows us that God wants to save the whole man, that is, soul and body. “Jesus rose with the body he had assumed from Mary and he ascended to the Father with his transfigured humanity. With the body, a body like ours, but transfigured. The assumption of Mary, a human creature, gives us the confirmation of what our glorious destiny will be "(Pope Francis).

To the question: what does the Assumption of Mary give to our journey, to our life? the first answer is: "In the Assumption we see that in God there is room for man. God himself is the house with the many apartments of which Jesus speaks about (cf. Jn 14: 2); God is the house of man, in God there is the space of God. And Mary, united with God, does not move away from us, does not go to an unknown galaxy because whoever goes to God is coming close to us, because God is close to all of us, and Mary, united with God, participates in the presence of God and is very close to us, to each one of us "(Benedict XVI). In God there is room for every man, God is close, and Mary, united with God, is remarkably close with her heart as wide as the heart of God.

            There is also a second answer: not only in God there is space for every creature, but in every creature, there is space for God. We contemplate this in Our Lady who, as a living Tabernacle, has brought to us the presence of God. "In us there is room for God, and this presence of God in us, so important to enlighten the world in its sadness and in its problems, this presence is realized in faith: in faith we open the doors of our being so that God enters in us, so that God can be the force that gives life and way to our being”. (Id)

 

 

1) The goal of the pilgrimage of Heaven
        The gift with which God has given us His Son could not be corrupted. The living temple which first hosted the Body of Christ could not have gone to dust. The Assumption[1] of the Virgin clarifies in a beautiful way the sentence that, starting from St. Irenaeus (second century), is often repeated "God became man so that manmight become God." What does it mean "to become God"? It means: to become a living being whose life has no limits because it is forever free from sin and death.
        Before reflecting on the today’s Gospel that represents the Visitation of Mary to her cousin Elizabethwhose son rejoices in the womb sensing the presence of the Son of God, I will dwell on the image (icon in Greek) of the Virgin Mother with the divine Child in her arms and whom she holds and protects. Mary, on behalf of all humanity, receives God in a tender and familiar way by touching with her face the face of the little Jesus. Jesus, at the end of his mother’s earthly life, does something similar. If we contemplate the icon of theDormition of Mary (it is with this name that the Eastern Church celebrated the Assumption), we see that in this case it is He who welcomes the Mother: God welcomes humanity.

        Let us look at the painting:

: 

            

 


        The Virgin Mother is dead. Christ, her Risen Son approaches her body covered in a black dress like a black chrysalis and takes in his arms the soul of His Mother represented as a little girl who completes her birthin the Kingdom. In some icons Jesus brings close to his face the face of this woman-child. Let us contemplatethis assumption, in which the divine welcomes the human. It is a great feast. In this regard, Saint Anselm ofAoste states that the Redeemer wanted to ascend into heaven before his mother not only to prepare in his palace a throne worthy of her, but also to make triumphant and glorious her entrance into heaven, going himself to receive her with all the Angels and the Blessed of Heaven.

        The feast of the Assumption reminds us of our destiny of fullness of life in communion with God. Marytaken into heaven in body and soul is the mystery of our faith which shows us that we too, like Mary, are "destined" one day to rise in body and soul. Our whole being, our history, and our relationships of loveexperienced through the heart and the actions of our body will find their fullness and their fulfillment in the love of God! Nothing in our history will be lost, nothing of all those acts of faith, love, humility, and justice made ​​withthe soul and the body will have been in vain.

2) The Road.
        The feast of the Assumption of Mary speaks to us not only of the goal, but also of the journey for uspilgrims following the example of our heavenly Mother who was a pilgrim of heaven all the days of her life on earth.
        Today we celebrate the feast of the Assumption of Mary, the entry into heaven of the one who believed next to her Son, in anticipation of the goal that awaits every man. Mary goes before us welcoming the Word that generates the Son in us, but she goes ahead of us also in the hope of the resurrection, that is, the assumption of all humanity in the life of God.
       To understand this mystery, today's liturgy takes us at the beginning of the story in which the sky came to earth and became a little germ of life in the womb of a simple village woman, and offers us the Gospel passage which recounts the visit of the Mother of the Messiah to her cousin Elizabeth. The Mother of God,after receiving the announcement of her motherhood by the angel, went in haste and with love to her elderly relative Elizabeth to share her joy with someone who was going through a similar situation. The reason for thefeast, then, is the joy of being loved by a fruitful Love.
        Let us imagine the scene in the house of Zechariah. You could say that the protagonists are two women who meet, two pregnant women, one old, old of ten centuries of waiting (the Baptist represents more than 2000 years of waiting; he represents the whole humanity waiting for the Savior promised at the beginning of time), a woman who bears within herself the ancient expectation of humanity. The other, a young girl whobears within herself the Expected by humanity and carries in herself the good news, the new life. The old one carries the desire, the young one the Wanted One. One woman carries the hunger, the other the food. And their encounter becomes advent. 
        I think that it is fair to say that this meeting does not take place between Mary and Elizabeth, but between the two children who are in the womb of their joyful mothers. Then Mary burst into the Magnificat, her canticle of joy: all ages will call her blessed; in body and soul she will forever be with the Lord because she collaborated with him in the work of redemption.
        Mary is the Mother of God because she believed His word and accepted His proposal. Her joy is true forall who act like her, whom today we celebrate recovering the deep sense of gratitude to the Lord for Hispresence and for His visit to us.

3) The visitation of the Mother of Life.
        The Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth allowed the visit of Jesus to John the Baptist.
        It was not a courtesy visit or a visit to give humanitarian aid to an elderly woman. It was a humble gesture of charity. She showed that God had really come down to visit and redeem the entire humanity. 
        At the beginning of the story of the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth there is a word to which it is not givensufficient importance: "in a hurry". "In those days (after the Annunciation) Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah" (Lk 1: 39). Why, instead of staying in meditation of the words of the AngelGabriel and wait for the fulfillment of the announcement in her house, Mary went "in haste" to her old cousinwho had been finally pregnant? Because she was driven by the charity of Christ. Her "haste" does not mean that she ran on the road to Ain Karim, a village near Jerusalem where Elizabeth lived. It means that there is and there must be no delay between the conception of Jesus in Her and the presence of Jesus among men. 
        We must do the same. If we must give birth to Jesus in us and by us, as eminently as Mary did, we must let the Spirit flourish in us, leaving ... without delay. Every grace is a mission. Every vocation is the mission to take "in haste" the presence of Christ in the world.
        This vocation is lived by the consecrated Virgins in the world starting from their total commitment to Christand their spousal communion with Him ("Are you resolved to accept solemn consecration as a bride of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God? I am." Rite consecration of Virgins) which implies that the fullness ofvirginity must be donated by the sense of motherhood. They are really virgins and wives when they begin to feel mothers and when their zeal to save souls and bring them to God pushes them "in haste" to make available to the Church and to humanity all their resources and their existence. Then, they really give lifeserving the Life, as in the prayer of the Rite of Consecration of Virgins: “Let us pray to God the almighty Father through his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ that he will pour out the Holy Spirit of his love on these servants whom he has chosen to be consecrated to his service.”

 

 

Patristic Reading

St. John Damascene  (A.D. 676 - 754/787)

 

Sermon II on the Dormition of Mary


 

There is no one in existence who is able to praise worthily the holy death of God's Mother, even if he should have a thousand tongues and a thousand mouths. Not if all the most eloquent tongues could be united would their praises be sufficient. She is greater than all praise. Since, however, God is pleased with the efforts of a loving zeal, and the Mother of God with what concerns the service of her Son, suffer me now to revert again to her praises. This is in obedience to your orders, most excellent pastors, so dear to God, and we call upon the Word made flesh of her to come to our assistance. He gives speech to every mouth which is opened for Him. He is her sole pleasure and adornment. We know that in celebrating her praises we pay off our debt, and that in so doing we are again debtors, so that the debt is ever beginning afresh. It is fitting that we should exalt her who is above all created things, governing them as Mother of the God who is their Creator, Lord, and Master. Bear with me you who hang upon the divine words, and receive my good will. Strengthen my desire, and be patient with the weakness of my words. It is as if a man were to bring a violet of royal purple out of season, or a fragrant rose with buds of different hues, or some rich fruit of autumn to a mighty potentate who is divinely appointed to rule over men. Every day he sits at a table laden with every conceivable dish in the perfumed courts of his palace. He does not look at the smallness of the offering, or at its novelty so much as he admires the good intention, and with reason. This he would reward with an abundance of GIFTS and favours. So we, in our winter of poverty, bring garlands to our Queen, and prepare a flower of oratory for the feast of praise. We break our mind's stony desire with iron, pressing, as it were, the unripe grapes. And may you receive with more and more favour the words which fall upon your eager and listening ears. 

What shall we offer the Mother of the Word if not our words? Like rejoices in like and in what it loves. Thus, then, making a start and loosening the reins of my discourse, I may send it forth as a charger ready equipped for the race. But do Thou, O Word of God, be my helper and auxiliary, and speak wisdom to my unwisdom. By Thy word make my path clear, and direct my course according to Thy good pleasure, which is the end of all wisdom and discernment.Today the holy Virgin of Virgins is presented in the heavenly temple. Virginity in her was so strong as to be a consuming fire. It is forfeited in every case by child-birth. But she is ever a virgin, before the event, in the birth itself, and afterwards. To-day the sacred and living ark of the living God, who conceived her Creator Himself, takes up her abode in the temple of God, not made by hands. David, her forefather, rejoices. Angels and Archangels are in jubilation, Powers exult, Principalities and Dominations, Virtues and Thrones are in gladness: Cherubim and Seraphim magnify God. Not the least of their Praise is it to refer praise to the Mother of glory. To-day the holy dove, the pure and guileless soul, sanctified by the Holy Spirit, putting off the ark of her body, the life-giving receptacle of Our Lord, found rest to the soles of her feet, taking her flight to the spiritual world, and dwelling securely in the sinless country above. To-day the Eden of the new Adam receives the true paradise, in which sin is remitted and the tree of life growl, and our nakedness is covered. For we are no longer naked and uncovered, and unable to bear the splendour of the divine likeness. Strengthened with the abundant grace of the Spirit, we shall no longer betray our nakedness in the words: "I have Put off my garment, how shall I put it on?" The serpent, by whose deceitful promise we were likened to brute beasts, did not enter into this paradise. He, the only begotten Son of God, God himself, of the same substance as the Father, took His ] human nature of the pure Virgin. Being constituted a man, He made mortality immortal, and was clothed as a man. Putting aside corruption, He was indued with the incorruptibility of the Godhead. 

 

 

Today the spotless Virgin, untouched by earthly affections, and all heavenly in her thoughts, was not dissolved in earth, but truly entering heaven, dwells in the heavenly tabernacles. Who would be wrong to call her heaven, unless indeed he truly said that she is greater than heaven in surpassing dignity? The Lord and Creator of heaven, the Architect of all things beneath the earth and above, of creation, visible and invisible, Who is not circumvented by place (if that which surrounds things is rightly termed place), created Himself, without human co-operation, an Infant in her. He made her a rich treasure-house of His all-pervading and alone uncircumscribed Godhead, subsisting entirely in her without passion, remaining entire in His universality and Himself uncircumscribed. To-day the life-giving treasury and abyss of charity (I know not how to trust my lips to speak of it) is hidden in immortal death. She meets it without fear, who conceived death's destroyer, if indeed we may call her holy and vivifying departure by the name of death. For how could she, who brought life to all, be under the dominion of death ? But she obeys the law of her own Son, and inherits this chastisement as a daughter of the first Adam, since her Son, who is the life, did not refuse it. As the Mother of the living God, she goes through death to Him. For if God said: "Unless the first man put out his hand to take and taste of the tree of life, he shall live for ever," how shall she, who received the Life Himself, without beginning or end, or finite vicissitudes, not live for ever. 


 

Of old the Lord God banished from the garden of Eden our first parents after their disobedience, when they had dulled the eye of their heart through their sin, and weakened their mind's discernment, and had fallen into death-like apathy. But, now, shall not paradise receive her, who broke the bondage of all passion, sowed the seed of obedience to God and the Father, and was the beginning of life to the whole human race ? Will not heaven open its gates to her with rejoicing ? Yes, indeed. Eve listened to the serpent, adopted his suggestion, was caught by the lure of false and deceptive pleasure, and was condemned to pain and sorrow, and to bear children in suffering. With Adam she received the sentence of death, and was placed in the recesses of Limbo. How can death claim as its prey this truly blessed one, who listened to God's word in humility, and was filled with the Spirit, conceiving the Father's gift through the archangel, bearing without concupiscence or the co-operation of man the Person of the Divine Word, who fills all things, bringing Him forth, without the pains of childbirth, being wholly united to God? How could Limbo open its gates to her ? How could corruption touch the life-giving body ? These are things quite foreign to the soul and body of God's Mother. Death trembled before her. In approaching her Son, death had learnt experience from His sufferings, and had grown wiser. The gloomy descent to hell was not for her, but a joyous, easy, and sweet passage to heaven. If, as Christ, the Life and the Truth says: "Wherever I am, there is also my minister," how much more shall not His mother be with Him? She brought Him forth without pain, and her death, also, was painless. The death of sinners is terrible, for in it, sin, the cause of death, is sacrificed. What shall we say of her if not that she is the beginning of perpetual life. Precious indeed is the death of His saints to the Lord God of powers. More than precious is the passing away of God's Mother. Now let the heavens and the angels rejoice: let the earth and men be full of gladness. Let the air resound with song and canticle, and dark night put off its gloom, and emulate the brightness of day through the scintillating stars. The living city of the Lord God is assumed from God's temple, the visible Sion, and kings bring forth His most precious gift, their mother, to the heavenly JERUSALEM, that is to say, the apostles constituted princes by Christ, over all the earth, accompany the ever virginal Mother of God. 


 

The complete text is at : http://www.fisheaters.com/customstimeafterpentecost6.html

 

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[1] The dogma of the Assumption was proclaimed by Pope Pius XII on November 1 of the Holy Year 1950, through the Apostolic Constitution Deus Munificentissimus. But what it described was already present in the faith of the church ("sensus fidelium"), and in particular in the popular one, from the 4th century AD when a Church Father, Epiphanius of Salamis, tried to answer the questionabout the ultimate fate of Mary. The question was if Mary, being completely free from sin (one of the effects of original sin is death) had to succumb to the latter as all human beings. So in the 6th century, the Bishop of Livias (near Jericho) said in a sermon: "It was fitting that the body that had carried and kept the Son of God, after being on the Earth, would have welcomed gloriously in heaventogether with the soul. "
Meanwhile, the Church began to celebrate the Marian feasts. The first one was indeed the one that is at the origin of the Feast of the Assumption. On August 15, 453 in Jerusalem a church, called with the evocative term of "Dormition" because Mary at the end of her earthly journey was not dead but asleep, was dedicated to the death of Mary. In the Eastern tradition the death of Mary is called "dormitio" (= fall asleep) or even "transitus" (= pass). 

Later, in the 7th century Modestus, Bishop Ordinary of Jerusalem, announced in his homily that "Mary was taken by the Lord of Lords into Glory" and praised the passing of the glorious Mother of God, "taken from the tomb and called to Himself by her Son in a way known only to Him."