Lifted Up by Mercy: Mary, the Canaanite Woman, and the God Who Raises the Lowly

​Dear Brothers and Sisters,

On August 15th, we celebrated the Assumption of Mary, recalling that at the end of her earthly life our Blessed Mother was taken body and soul into heaven. This feast reminds us that God’s power is revealed not in domination, but in mercy. He lifts up the lowly. In Mary, God shows what He desires for all His children: that the humble be raised, the forgotten remembered, and the faithful brought into glory.

Mary’s life reveals how God notices what the world overlooks. She was a young woman from an ordinary village, without status or influence, yet God chose her to bear His Son and, at the end of her earthly life, drew her body and soul into heaven. The Assumption teaches us that humility is never wasted and trust is never ignored.

This Sunday’s Gospel (Matthew 15:21–28) echoes the same truth. The Canaanite woman was an outsider, dismissed by the disciples and seemingly ignored by Jesus. Yet she refused to give up. Her persistent faith broke through every barrier, and Jesus praised her perseverance. She shows, as Mary does, that God listens to those without power and draws close to all who come before Him in need.

Mary and the Canaanite woman together show how wide God’s mercy truly is. Mary reveals the future God desires for His faithful ones; the Canaanite woman shows the courage to seek that mercy even when others say we do not deserve it. Both proclaim that God’s heart is open to those who come in humility, trust, and hope.

​God still looks upon the lowly. God still hears those who feel pushed aside. God still raises up those who cling to Him in faith. And He calls the Church to be a place where the forgotten are remembered, the outsider welcomed, and the humble honored. May our parish reflect this calling.

May Mary’s Assumption strengthen our hope, and may the Canaanite woman’s faith deepen our trust in the God who lifts up the lowly and brings His children into glory.

I wish you a grace-filled week!

Fr. Nick Apetorgbor