On St. Matthew's Day - From the Gospel

From the Catena Aurea:

Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil." But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, "Send her away; for she crieth after us." But he answered and said, "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel." Then came she and worshipped him, saying, "Lord, help me." But he answered and said, "It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs." And she said, "Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table." Then Jesus answered and said unto her, "O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt." And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

Raban.: Tyre and Sidon are cities of Phoenicia. Tyre is interpreted 'narrowness,' and Sidon 'hunting," and denote the Gentiles whom the Devil as a hunter drives into the straits of sin; but Jesus the Saviour sets them free by the Gospel.

"Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they rample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you."

Aug., Serm. in Mont., ii, 20: Let us see now what is the holy thing, what are the dogs, what the pearls, what the swine? The holy thing is all that it were impiety to corrupt; a sin which may be committed by the will, though the thing itself be undone. The pearls are all spiritual things that are to be highly esteemed. Thus though one and the same thing may be called both the holy thing and a pearl, yet it is called holy because it is not to be corrupted; and called a pearl because it is not be contemned.

Pseudo-Chrys.: Otherwise; "That which is holy" denotes baptism, the grace of Christ's body, and the like; but the mysteries of the truth are intended by the pearls. For as pearls are inclosed in shells, and such in the deeps of the sea, so the divine mysteries inclosed in words are lodged in the deep meaning of Holy Scripture.

Chrys.: And to those that are right-minded and have understanding, when revealed they appear good; but to those without understanding, they seem to be more deserving reverence because they are not understood.

Aug.: The dogs are those that assault the truth; the swine we may not unsuitably take for those that despise the truth. Therefore because dogs leap forth to rend in pieces, and what they rend, suffer not to continue whole, He said, "Give not that which is holy to the dogs;" because they strive to the utmost of their power to destroy the truth. The swine though they do not assault by biting as dogs, yet do they defile by trampling upon, and therefore He said, "Cast not your pearls before swine."

Rabanus: Or; The dogs are returned to their vomit; the swine not yet returned, but wallowing in the mire of vices.

Pseudo-Chrys.: Otherwise; The dog and the swine are unclean animals; the dog indeed in every respect, as he neither chews the cud, nor divides the hoof; but swine in one respect only, seeing they divide the hoof, though they do not chew the cud. Hence I think that we are to understand by the dog, the Gentiles who are altogether unclean, both in their life, and in their faith; but by the swine are to be understood heretics, because they seem to call upon the name of the Lord.

"Give not therefore that which is holy to the dogs," for that baptism and the other sacraments are not to be given but to them that have the faith. In like manner the mysteries of the truth, that is, the pearls, are not to be given but to such as desire the truth and live with human reason. If then you cast them to the swine, that is, to such as are grovelling in impurity of life, they do not understand their preciousness, but value them like to other worldly fables, and tread them under foot with their carnal life.

Aug.: That which is despised is said to be trodden under foot: hence it is said, "Lest perchance they tread them under foot."

Gloss. interlin.: He says, "Lest perchance," because it may be that they will wisely turn from their uncleanness. [ed. note: the gloss. has 'guia non possunt.']

Aug.: That which follows, "Turn again and rend you," He means not the pearls themselves, for these they tread under foot, and when they turn again that they may hear something further, then they rend him by whom the pearls on which they had trode had been cast. For you will not easily find what will please him who has despised things god by great toil. Whoever then undertake to teach such, I see not how they shall not be trode upon and rent by those they teach.

Chrys.: The Evangelist says that she was a Chananaean, to shew the power of Christ's presence. For this nation, which had been driven out that they might not corrupt the Jews, now shewed themselves wiser than the Jews, leaving their own borders that they might go to Christ. And when she came to Him, she asked only for mercy, as it follows, "She cried unto Him, saying, Have mercy on me, Lord, thou Son of David."

Gloss., ap. Anselm: The great faith of this Chananaean woman is herein shewed. She believes Him to be God, in that she calls Him "Lord;" and man, in that she calls Him "Son of David." She claims nothing of her own desert, but craves only God's mercy. And she says not, Have mercy on my daughter, but "Have mercy on me;" because the affliction of the daughter is the affliction of the mother. And the more to excite His compassion, she declares to Him the whole of her grief, "My daughter is sore vexed by a daemon;" thus unfolding to the Physician the wound, and the extent and nature of the disease; its extent, when she says "is sore vexed;" its nature, "by a daemon."

Chrys., Hom. in quaedam loca, xlvii: Note the wisdom of this woman, she went not to men who promised fair, she sought not useless bandages, but leaving all devilish charms, she came to the Lord. She asked not James, she did not pray John, or apply to Peter, but putting herself under the protection of penitence, she ran alone to the Lord. But, behold, a new trouble. She makes her petition, raising her voice into a shout, and God, the lover of mankind, answers not a word.

Gloss., ap. Anselm: And by this delay in answering, He shews us the patience and perseverance of this woman. And He answered not for this reason also, that the disciples might petition for her; shewing herein that the prayers of the Saints are necessary in order to obtain any thing; as it follows, "And his disciples came unto him, saying, Send her away, for she crieth after us."

Chrys.: I judge that the disciples were sorry for the woman's affliction, yet dared not say 'Grant her this mercy,' but only "Send her away," as we, when we would persuade any one, oftentimes say the very contrary to what we wish.

"He answered and said, I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

Chrys.: Observe this woman's prudence; she does not dare to contradict Him, nor is she vexed with the commendation of the Jews, and the evil word applied to herself; "But she said, Yea, Lord, yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table." He said, "It is not good;" she answers, 'Yet even so, Lord;' He calls the Jews children, she calls them masters; He called her a dog, she accepts the office of a dog; as if she had said, I cannot leave the table of my Lord.

Chrys.:. This was the cause why Christ was so backward, that He knew what she would say, and would not have her so great excellence hid; whence it follows, "Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith, be it unto thee according to thy will."

Observe how the woman herself had contributed not a little to her daughter's healing; and therefore Christ said not unto her, 'Let thy daughter be healed,' but, "Be it unto thee according to thy will;" that you may perceive that she had spoken in sincerity, and that her words were not words of flattery, but of abundant faith.

And this word of Christ is like that word which said, "Let [p. 565] there be a firmament." [Gen 1:6] and it was made; so here, "And her daughter was made whole from that hour."

Observe how she obtains what the Apostles could not obtain for her; so great a thing is the earnestness of prayer.

Hilary: Or, This mother represents the proselytes, in that she leaves her own country, and forsakes the Gentiles for the name of another nation; she prays for her daughter, that is, the body Gentiles possessed with unclean spirits; and having learned the Lord by the Law, calls Him the Son of David.

Raban.: Also whosoever has his conscience polluted with the defilement of any sin, has a daughter sorely vexed by a daemon. Also whosoever has defiled any good that he has done by the plague of sin, has a daughter tossed by the furies of an unclean spirit, and has need to fly to prayers and tears, and to seek the intercessions and aids of the saints.