Then Jesus went from that place and withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out. "Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon." But he did not say a word in answer to her. His disciples came and asked him, "Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us."
He said in reply, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
But the woman came and did him homage, saying, "Lord, help me." He said in reply, "It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters." Then Jesus said to her in reply, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed from that hour.
The Word in other words
She did not believe in miracles. As a pharmacist, my mother believed in doctor's prescriptions and drugstores. Then, one day, my sister fell sick. The doctor was puzzled. What was certain was that my sister was suffering from a high fever accompanied by a series of vomiting, darkened skin and some dark patches all over the body. Upon seeing my distressed mom and my poor sister, the nurse suggested that Mama could try praying at a much talked-about Divine Mercy shrine. Then, the nurse prayed over my sister. This loving gesture moved my mom so much that she then asked my dad to stay while she rushed to the shrine.
Never knowing what word to say, she eloquently and tearfully asked the Lord to heal my sister. Then suddenly, a collective gasp was heard as the glass began to blur at its center. Then the people broke into shouts and cries as the mister center glistened and a rivulet of water gushed forth! The visionary saw this, got the cup and caught the water. She handed it to mama, but my mom was already running to the door. She had no more need for the cup or the water; she knew that the Lord had answered her. That was all she asked. True enough, my mother cried all the more when the nurse met her at the lobby and told her that my sister was already up!
This is one of the greatest family stories. Yes, this might sound to good to be true, but it happened. It speaks about human faith and the promptness of he Lord's help. My mother was a skeptic. She was never a part of those people one would find praying in a chapel; she was an "outsider" to faith systems and practices, but there must have been that insistent faith beneath the unbelief which so touched the Lord that he allowed mercy and love to flow out from his heart.
This story has been told and re-told many times over, but the message remains the same. This changed my mom, too, so that when she finally breathed her last the Divine Mercy's picture was in front of her. She was gazing at it until death finally closed her eyes.
- Fr. Ferdinand Bajao, SVD (Rome, Italy)
