"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." John 6:68



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Wednesday of the Eighteenth week in Ordinary Time
Commentary of the day
Saint Hilary (c.315-367), Bishop of Poitiers, Doctor of the Church
Commentary on Saint Matthew's Gospel, 15 ; SC 258

"My daughter is tormented by a demon"

This gentile Canaanite woman no longer needs healing herself since she confesses Christ as Lord and Son of David. But she begs for help for her daughter, that is to say, for the crowd of Gentiles held captive under the domination of unclean spirits. Our Lord is silent, preserving for Israel with his silence the honor of salvation... Bearing in himself the mystery of the Father's will, he answers that he was sent to the lost sheep of Israel so that it might be clearly seen that the daughter of the Canaanite woman is the symbol of the Church... This doesn't mean that salvation was not to be given to the gentiles but that our Lord had come “to his own and his own people” (Jn 1,11) and he was waiting for the firstfruits of the faith from the people from whom he had come forth; the rest would be saved later through the preaching of the apostles...

And that we might understand that the Lord's silence was due to consideration of the times and not to any obstacle placed by his own will, he added: “Woman, your faith is great!”  What he meant was that this woman, who was already sure of her salvation, had – what is better still – faith in the gathering together of the gentiles at the approaching time when, through their faith, they would be set free like this young girl from all domination by unclean spirits. Indeed, confirmation of this came about: following the prefiguration of the gentiles in the Canaanite woman's daughter, people who were prisoner to all kinds of different illnesses were brought to the Lord by the crowds on the mountain (Mt 15,30). These were unbelievers, that is to say sick, who were led by believers to adoration and worship and to whom salvation was given that they might comprehend, study, praise and follow God.



 
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