[The woman] said, "Please Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters." Then Jesus said to her in reply, "O woman, great is your faith!” // Matthew 15:27
I sat riveted in the noisy church hall as he recounted his story. He was a former Protestant pastor who’d felt the call to explore Catholicism and left everything to become Catholic. Now he was pursuing a new call to become a permanent deacon. So many moments of gratuitous grace had brought him to this place.
Suddenly, I saw the same trail of grace in my own life: parents who’d passed down the Faith, countless priests, mentors, and friends who had encouraged me in difficulty—even the grace God gave me to respond to His grace. All had led me to this place of deep encounter with His healing love. I deserved none of it, but still He wanted me to have it. Gratitude overwhelmed me.
The woman in today’s Gospel (see Matthew 15:21-28) recognized and accepted the crumbs of God’s grace in her life, too. She came to Him expectantly—not from a place of entitlement, but in genuine humility and bold faith. In response, the Lord praised her and brought deep healing.
The Lord has scattered a trail of His sustenance through each of our lives, but often we miss His divine crumbs because we’re chasing after worldly feasts. Our pride gets in the way, convincing us that God owes us the best that this passing world has to offer.
Meanwhile, God works through every moment of our lives to give us the best that all eternity has to offer.
Just one of His divine crumbs is infinitely greater than the most sumptuous earthly feast. All the riches, pleasures, and rewards of this world together cannot equal a fraction of the satisfaction contained in a single crumb of God’s love.
These divine crumbs in your life might be beautiful consolations, desolations that lead to growth, or difficulties that detach you from desires that endanger your soul.
With the eyes of faith and a heart of humility, you can begin to recognize these crumbs of soul-deep nourishment from the Lord. Today, ask the Lord for the faith and humility to see His trail of grace in your life—then ask for the grace to really receive it.
Megan Hjelmstad is a wife, enthusiastic hockey mom, and Army Veteran living in Denver, CO. In her “spare” time she serves as a Catholic Writer, Speaker, and Women’s Mentor, helping women to embrace their God-given dignity and deepen their prayer relationship with the Lord. She is the author Offer it Up: Discovering the Power and Purpose of Suffering, a writer for SpiritualDirection.com, and a longtime team member of Blessed is She. Megan adores books, sleep, sunshine, and Colorado’s great outdoors almost as much as she adores Jesus in the Eucharist. Learn more at MeganHjelmstad.com.
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