Then Jesus answered and said unto her,
O woman, great is your faith: be it unto you even as you will.
And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
Read Chapter 15
Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
See, brothers, how in this woman who was a Canaanite—who came from the Gentiles and represented a type (namely, a figure of the church)—how her humility is highly praised. Indeed, the Jewish people, as castigated in the Gospel, were puffed up with pride because they were chosen to receive the law, because the patriarchs proceeded from that people, the prophets appeared and God’s servant Moses performed great miracles in Egypt, which we hear about in the Psalms. He led the people through the Red Sea with the waters receding, and he received the law, which he gave to the same people. These were the grounds for extolling the Jewish people. Because of that pride, they were unwilling to respond to Christ the author of humility, the restrainer of swellheadedness, the physician God who, because he was God, became man that as a man he might know himself as man. What great medicine! If this medicine does not cure pride, what could possibly cure it? I do not know. God became a man. He put aside ...
De Cons. Ev., ii, 49: A question of discrepancy is raised upon this, that Mark says the Lord was in the house when the woman came praying for her daughter. Indeed Matthew might have been understood to have omitted mention of the house, and yet to have been relating the same event; but when he says, that the disciples suggested to the Lord, “Send her away, for she crieth after us,” he seems to indicate clearly that the woman raised her voice in supplication, in following the Lord who waswalking.We must understand then, that, as Mark writes, she entered in where Jesus was, that is, as he had noticed above, in the house; then, that as Matthew writes, “He answered her not a word,” and during this silence of both sides, Jesus left the house; and then the rest follows without any discordance.
Quaest. Ev., i, 18: And that to heal the Centurion’s servant, and the daughter of this Chananaean woman, He does not go to their houses, signifies that the Gentiles, among whom He himself went not, shou...
Be it done. In the beginning God said, Let there be light, and there was light; here Jesus Christ says, let it be done and her daughter was healed from that hour. So powerful with God is earnest and fervent prayer. (St. Chrysostom, hom. liii.)
Ap. Anselm: The great faith of this Chananaean woman is herein shewed. She believes Him to be God, in that she calls Him “Lord;” and man, in that she calls Him “Son of David.” She claims nothing of her own desert, but craves only God's mercy. And she says not, Have mercy on my daughter, but “Have mercy on me;” because the affliction of the daughter is the affliction of the mother. And the more to excite His compassion, she declares to Him the whole of her grief, “My daughteris sore vexed by a daemon;” thus unfolding to the Physician the wound, and the extent and nature of the disease; its extent, when she says “is sore vexed; "its nature, “by a daemon.”.
ap. Anselm: And by this delay in answering, He shows us the patience and perseverance of this woman. And He answered not for this reason also, that the disciples might petition for her; shewing herein that the prayers of the Saints are necessary in order to obtain any thing; as it follows, “And his disciples came unto him, saying, Send...
Or, This mother represents the proselytes, in that she leaves her own country, and forsakes the Gentiles for the name of another nation; she prays for her daughter, that is, the body of the Gentiles possessed with unclean spirits; and having learned the Lord by the Law, calls Him the Son of David.
Leaving the Scribes and Pharisees and those cavillers, He passes into the parts of Tyre and Sidon, that He may heal the Tyrians and Sidonians; “And Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.”.
Not from pharisaical pride, or the superciliousness of the Scribes, but that Hemight not seem to contravene His own decision, “Go not into the way of the Gentiles.” For He was unwilling to give occasion to their cavils, and reserved the complete salvation of the Gentiles for the season of His passion and resurrection.
He says that He is not sent to the Gentiles, but that He is sent first to Israel, so that where they would not receive the Gospel, the passing over to the Gentiles might have just cause.
And He adds “of the house of Israel,” with this design, that we might rightly interpret by this place that other parable concerning the stray sheep.
Note how perseveringly this Chananaean woman calls Him first “Son of David, "then “Lord,” and lastly “came and worshipped him,...
Hom, iii: It should be observed, that when He delivered the Jews from the observance of meats, He then also opened the door to the Gentiles, as Peter was first bidden in the vision to break this law, and was afterwards sent to Cornelius. But if any should ask, how it is that He bade His disciples “go not into the way of the Gentiles,” and yet now Himself walks this way; we will answer, first, that that precept which He had given His disciples was not obligatory on Him; secondly, that He went not to preach, whence Mark even says, that He purposely concealed Himself.
The Evangelist says that she was a Chananaean, to show the power of Christ’s presence. For this nation, which had been driven out that they might not corrupt the Jews, now showed themselves wiser than the Jews, leaving their own borders that they might go to Christ. And when she came to Him, she asked only for mercy, asit follows, “She cried unto Him, saying, Have mercy on me, Lord, thou Son of David.”.
Hom. in quaedam loca,...
Hear the proud language of the Jews. We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man; John 8:33 and, We be born of God. John 8:41 But not so this woman, rather she calls herself a dog, and them masters; so for this she became a child. What then says Christ? O woman, great is your faith. Matthew 15:28
Yea, therefore did He put her off, that He might proclaim aloud this saying, that He might crown the woman.
Be it unto you even as you will. Now what He says is like this: Your faith indeed is able to effect even greater things than these; nevertheless, Be it unto you even as you will.
This was akin to that voice that said, Let the Heaven be, and it was. Genesis 1:3
And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
Do you see how this woman too contributed not a little to the healing of her daughter? For to this purpose neither did Christ say, Let your little daughter be made whole, but, Great is your faith, be it unto you even as you will; to teach you that th...
But the whelps eat not the crust only, but the crumbs of the children’s bread, because the despised among the Gentiles on turning to the faith, seek out in Scripture not the outside of the letter, but the spiritual sense, by which they may be able to profit in good acts.
Great indeed was her faith; for the Gentiles, neither trained in the Law, nor educated by the words of the Prophets, straightway on the preaching of the Apostles obeyed with the hearing of the ear, and therefore deserved to obtain salvation.
Also whosoever has his conscience polluted with the defilement of any sin, has a daughter sorely vexed by adaemon. Also whosoever has defiled any good that he has done by the plague of sin, has a daughter tossed bythe furies of an unclean spirit, and has need to fly to prayers and tears, and to seek the intercessions and aids of the saints.
Tyre and Sidon were Gentile towns, for Tyre was the metropolis of theChananaeans, and Sidon the boundary of the Chananaeans towards the north.
In this way also He was sent specially to the Jew, because He taught them by His bodily presence.
In these words is given us a pattern of catechizing and baptizing children; forthe woman says not ‘Heal my daughter, 'or ‘Help her,’ but, “Have mercy upon me, and help me.” Thus there has come downin the Church the practice that the faithful are sponsors to God for their young children, before they have attained such age and reason that they can themselves make any pledge to God. So that as by this woman’s faith her daughter was healed, so by the faith of Catholics of mature age their sins might be forgiven to infants. Allegorically; This woman figures the Holy Church gathered out of the Gentiles. The Lord leaves the Scribes and Pharisees, and comes into the parts of Tyre and Sidon; this figures His leaving the Jews and going over to the Gentiles. T...
Now Jesus shows the reason why He put off healing her at the beginning. So that the faith and understanding of the woman might be made manifest, Christ did not immediately give His assent at the beginning and even drove her away. But now when her faith has been revealed she hears the words of praise, "Great is thy faith." By saying, "Be it unto thee even as thou wilt," Christ showed that if she had not had faith she would not have obtained her request. So, too, if we desire to obtain something, nothing prevents us from obtaining what we desire. Notice that even if saints should ask on our behalf, as the apostles did for the woman, still, we accomplish even more when we ask for ourselves. The Canaanite woman is also a symbol of the Church gathered from among the Gentiles. For Gentiles who first were even driven away, later were advanced to the rank of sons and were deemed worthy of the Bread, I mean, the Body of the Lord; while the Jews became dogs, thinking that they were being fed by ...
Now Jesus shows the reason why He put off healing her at the beginning: So that the faith and understanding of the woman might be made manifest, Christ did not immediately give His assent at the beginning and even drove her away. But now when her faith has been revealed she hears the words of praise, Great is thy faith. By saying, Be it unto thee even as thou wilt, Christ showed that if she had not had faith she would not have obtained her request. So, too, if we desire to obtain something, nothing prevents us from obtaining what we desire. Notice that even if saints should ask on our behalf, as the Apostles did for the woman, still, we accomplish even more when we ask for ourselves. The Canaanite woman is also a symbol of the Church gathered from among the Gentiles. For Gentiles who first were even driven away, later were advanced to the rank of sons and were deemed worthy of the Bread, I mean, the Body of the Lord; while the Jews became dogs, thinking that they were being fed by the ...
