16/08/2026
WHEN LIFE SEEMS DIFFICULT, STAY | “In times of difficulty, we need a faith that refuses to let go of God. This is perhaps one of the most precious lessons we can learn from this Sunday’s Gospel.
The Canaanite woman was a mother deeply in pain because her daughter was being tormented by a demon. It is often said that a child’s pain becomes twice the pain in a mother’s heart. And so this mother cried out desperately: “Lord, Son of David, have pity on me!”
But what happened?
Something very surprising: the Lord did not answer her. Jesus was silent. And perhaps that was more painful than hearing “No.” Sometimes, the silence of God can hurt even more than a refusal.
Many of us have experienced this. We pray, but nothing seems to happen. We ask God to heal someone we love, but the sickness continues. We pray for our children, but sometimes they seem to drift even farther away. We ask for peace in the family, but the conflict remains. We pray for change in our country, but sometimes the situation seems to become even worse.
And so we ask, “Lord, are You listening?”
The Canaanite woman teaches us a profound truth: The silence of God does not mean the absence of God.
The Lord did not answer her, but the woman did not leave. Instead, she came even closer. She knelt before Jesus and said: “Lord, help me.”
What a beautiful prayer! It was not long. There were no elaborate words. Just three simple words coming from a heart that refused to surrender: “Lord, help me.”
She refused to give up. Even when Jesus tested her severely, the woman remained humble and persistent.
Jesus said to her: “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.”
These words may sound harsh to us. Jesus was using an image familiar to His listeners: Israel was understood as the children of God’s covenant, while the Gentiles were considered outsiders. But instead of becoming offended or walking away, the woman responded with remarkable humility and faith: “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.”
And Jesus praised her: “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.”
And from that very moment, her daughter was healed.
What made this woman’s faith so great? It was not because she understood everything God was doing. Her faith was great because she continued to trust even when she did not understand.
Perhaps this is also the kind of faith we need today.
Not a faith that says, “Lord, I will believe in You if You answer my prayer immediately.”
But a faith that says: “Lord, even when I do not understand, I will still trust You. Even when I cannot yet see the answer, I will continue praying. Even when You seem silent, I will remain close to You.”
My dear brothers and sisters, perhaps one of the greatest expressions of faith is simply this: Refusing to walk away from God.
When life becomes difficult, stay.
When your prayer feels dry, stay.
When you are frustrated, stay.
When God seems to give no answer, stay.
Because God’s silence is not the end of the story.
The Canaanite woman eventually went home with her prayer answered. But even before her daughter was healed, something beautiful had already happened: her suffering had revealed the greatness of her faith.
And so, when difficult days come, perhaps we can make her short and simple prayer our own: “Lord, help me.”
Great faith is not a faith that never struggles. Great faith is a faith that, despite the struggle, refuses to let go of God.
——
Let me end with a story.
There was a mother whose son had slowly drifted away from his family and from God. He stopped going to church. He became involved with the wrong friends. Whenever his mother tried to advise him, he would become angry.
One day, he finally told her, “Mama, please stop talking to me about God. I don’t want to hear it anymore.”
The mother was deeply hurt. But she simply answered:
“Okay, anak. I will stop talking to you about God. But I will never stop talking to God about you.”
Every night before going to sleep, she mentioned her son’s name in prayer.
Sometimes she prayed with hope.
Sometimes with tears.
Sometimes all she could say was, “Lord, help my son.”
Years passed.
There were days when she wondered whether God was listening at all. But like the Canaanite woman, she refused to walk away. She kept praying. She kept trusting. And most importantly, she kept loving her son.
Then one evening, after many years, her son came home. He sat quietly beside her and said:
“Ma, will you come with me to church tomorrow?”
The mother began to cry.
Her son asked, “Ma, why are you crying?”
She held his hand and answered:
“Because I have been talking to God about you for many years. And tonight, I know He was listening all along.”
——
My dear brothers and sisters, perhaps you also have someone you have been praying for—a child, a spouse, a parent, a friend. Perhaps you have been carrying a prayer for months or even years, and heaven seems silent.
Do not give up.
You may not yet see what God is doing in the heart of the person you love. You may not yet understand why the answer is taking so long. But continue to pray. Continue to hope. Continue to love.
Sometimes, when we can no longer bring the people we love closer to God, we can still bring them to God in our prayers.
And when you no longer know what to say, pray the prayer of that mother in the Gospel: “Lord, help me.”
Then hold on. Because the God who sometimes seems silent is still listening, still loving, and still at work.
Never give up on God. And never give up praying for the people you love.”
— Cebu Archbishop Alberto “Abet” Uy
Maymay sa Magbalantay | 16 August 2026
