Exalted Through Humility

<p>This episode pairs Francisco Bayeu&#39;s <em>The Assumption of the Virgin </em>with the Gospel story of the Canaanite woman (Matthew 15:21-28), drawing out humility as the thread connecting both. Just as Mary appears at the bottom of Bayeu&#39;s painting despite being assumed into heaven&#39;s heights, the Canaanite woman humbles herself to accept being called a &quot;dog&quot; and asks only for crumbs, and both are exalted precisely because of their lowliness. The episode closes with a meditation imagining Our Lady witnessing the Canaanite woman&#39;s encounter with Jesus, framing Mary&#39;s own self-description as &quot;lowly handmaid&quot; alongside Justa&#39;s perseverance and faith.</p><p><br></p><p>Reflection Questions:</p><ol><li>Where in your life are you being invited to take &quot;the lowest place&quot; rather than assert your own worth?</li><li>Jesus is silent to the Canaanite woman at first. How do you respond when God seems silent to your own pleas?</li><li>Bayeu placed Mary at the very bottom of a painting meant to be viewed looking upward toward heaven. What does it mean that God &quot;fills from the bottom up&quot;?</li></ol><p><br></p><p><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nbow2W0msv8rd74d6L0XfcNIzyHmYCvq/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">Here&#39;s a link</a> to Francisco Bayeu&#39;s <em>The Assumption of the Virgin: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nbow2W0msv8rd74d6L0XfcNIzyHmYCvq/view?usp=sharing</em></p><p><br></p><p><a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Udx5GRu9M23yvCLzSsCV25eDb2d0_R4N-E2GG2ctDHk/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">Here&#39;s the link</a> to the Google Slides presentation for experiencing this episode as a group: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Udx5GRu9M23yvCLzSsCV25eDb2d0_R4N-E2GG2ctDHk/edit?usp=sharing</p><p><br></p><p><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1g4E6-CA4nNPoqMs8bOmGY55MWO_ZN4fEzMgF17b-XVg/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">Here&#39;s the link</a> to the text of the meditation: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1g4E6-CA4nNPoqMs8bOmGY55MWO_ZN4fEzMgF17b-XVg/edit?usp=sharing</p>