Referring to Matthew 15:21-28, Fr. Jonas talks about how love draws the best from us at the 4 p.m. Mass at the St. Francis Chapel in the Prudential Center in Boston on Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026.

Text of the homily

Jesus says, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.”

These words and today’s Gospel could trouble us because our loving, merciful Jesus seems harsh to this Canaanite woman. Yet, this text teaches us how love draws the best from us.

First, look at things from Jesus’ view. He enters a foreign country, and a woman seeks his help by calling him Lord and Son of David. Those titles are true. Yet would we not also be a bit suspicious when we receive such flattery upfront?

Jesus as Son of David hints at his political kingship of Israel. But his rule would not extend to Tyre and Sidon; the woman would have no allegiance to him. She calls Jesus twice Lord; however, in Matthew 7:21, Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.” That requires worship in Spirit and truth. Yet, this Canaanite’s religious practices militate against it.

How would we and Jesus know that this woman’s appeal is not just lip service?

Here we touch at an essential element of the Christian life: the purification of our motives and our means. How many times do we act like renegades, doing good and praying for help without any conversion? We as beloved sons and daughters of God must learn to act out of the love of God, which is the sole action in heaven.

Our loving Jesus unveils our flattery and our attitudes by telling the truth, which can hit us like a splash of ice-cold water. In his reply to the woman, Jesus says his love, help and healing entail belonging to his kingdom.

How do we respond to that shock of the truth? Do we walk away angry? Or do we stay and persist?

This Canaanite woman excels in the second choice while earlier in Matthew’s Gospel, the Pharisees stay scandalized at Jesus’ words and actions, and the disciples do not understand fully Jesus. This woman’s love for her sick daughter deepens her faith in Jesus that looks beyond his shocking and scandalizing words toward God’s mercy that extends in unexpected directions.

When she says, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters,” she means, “Yes, I am begging for help. But I also belong in your kingdom because I know who you are and the true master is your Father in heaven.”

Instead of words that defile her, she speaks words of faith that bring salvation. “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.”

This Canaanite woman points to the Blessed Virgin Mary, who believes and persists with Jesus even at the scandal of the cross. With them, we persevere with Jesus and speak words of trust amid shock and scandal. Then, God’s grace and help surely will arrive.