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I have grown over the years in my appreciation of the truth and beauty present in today’s passage from Matthew’s Gospel. When I was younger, it bothered me that Jesus appeared to be unusually harsh with the Canaanite woman who approached him with such faith, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.”

At first, Jesus simply refuses to respond to her. She persists with Our Lord, and he states that the focus of his ministry is on the Jews, the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and not on the Gentiles. She responds again in faith, and he offers a most puzzling response, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” Again, Jesus normally responds quickly and with generosity to those who approach him with humility and faith.

After years of prayer and observation, I have come to trust Jesus more and more. He knows us very well, better than we know ourselves.

He has a plan for each of us that is tailored to our experiences, our needs and the Father’s perfect will. That plan includes calling us to deeper faith, more sacrificial charity and greater holiness.

His plan always includes pruning which usually hurts a little. It includes disciplining us, the artful work of a good Father. His plan includes extending challenges that are sometimes confusing and unpleasant at the time we go through them but always turn out to be channels of unexpected and abundant grace.

This aspect of God’s work in our lives is always done from a place of love and wisdom. It comes from the hand of the Good Shepherd who cares for each sheep personally and who lays down his life for the sheep.

Jesus knew the Canaanite woman’s heart and her spirit. After Jesus’ failure to respond to her, she perseveres in this encounter: “But the woman came and did (Jesus) homage, saying ‘Lord, help me.’  Then, to his most surprising challenge, she responds, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” In the end, Jesus reaches into her heart and calls forth a new and profound level of faith in him. She responds with wonderful humility and trust. The encounter concludes with the precious words, “O woman, great is your faith!”

As our nation has been celebrating our 250th anniversary, we have been invited to ponder the lives of Catholic men and women of faith who have served the people of our nation since its founding. One of them is St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, the first American citizen to be canonized. She persevered in remarkable ways through a wide range of challenges thrown her way.

From a young age, she wanted to be a missionary in China. However, at the urging of Pope Leo XIII, she came with six sisters to the United States to work with the many Italian immigrants living here. She was remarkably dedicated and resourceful, but she constantly ran into disappointments and difficulties.

Upon her arrival, the house arranged in advance to be her first orphanage was no longer available. Furthermore, the archbishop of New York strongly advised her to return to Italy. However, the grace of God and her strong faith and resilience overcame many obstacles. In 35 years of boundless trust in God and indefatigable determination, Frances Xavier Cabrini founded 67 institutions all around the United States dedicated to the care of the neediest in America.

In the end, Mother Cabrini died of malaria. One could easily imagine that Jesus offered the same response to her as he did to the Canaanite woman, “O woman, great is your faith!” We can only hope that in the final hours of our earthly journey, Jesus will offer similar words to us.