Quitting

“And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.’” (John 2:4).

The Canaanite Woman (Folio 164 The Limbourg brothers)

There are some things that I have been praying for during the course of most of my life.  Others have been on my list of prayers for more than ten or twenty years.

I have been reflecting on some of those prayers.  Some have been answered in part and others not at all.

And when I think about all the things I pray for, perhaps the most important thing about those prayers is not to give up.  I always remind myself of the prayers of Saint Monica, which made her a Saint.  Over thirty years of praying for the conversion of her son, Saint Augustine, meant that in the end she was sanctified and so was he (and countless others through his teachings and reflections as Doctor of the Church).

So, I have to wonder, whether there was perhaps great merit from those prayers.  After all, if God turns everything to the good, perhaps this is a very clear example of how a Saint was made simply because she received Grace through prayer that she would not otherwise have received because she simply refused to quit.  She would not stop praying.

And there are other stories in the Gospel about these sorts of mothers who refused to stop praying, even when it appeared that God would not answer their prayers…

“And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and cried, ‘Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely possessed by a demon.’ But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, ‘Send her away, for she is crying after us.’ He answered, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’ But she came and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, help me.’ And he answered, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.’ She said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.’ Then Jesus answered her, ‘O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.’ And her daughter was healed instantly.” (Matthew 15:21-28).

Here the Canaanite woman refused to quit.  There was no quitting on the agenda for her.  She had nothing to lose and everything to gain.  Her daughter would not be saved without the Grace of this healing.  And so, she had no pride.  She could beg because there was too much on the line…

The Blessed Mother also persevered in prayer.  At Cana, when she told Christ that there was no wine, “And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.’” (John 2:4).

And perhaps, as I continue to pray, that is the whole point?  Perhaps God keeps the intention firmly in my mind because the person who really requires the transformation through Grace is not the person for whom I pray – but me, myself?  Perhaps it is my sanctification that God is after all along?

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.