What are we building?
August 20, 2026
Faith is not a substitute for the formula
August 20, 2026
By Klysha Best
It was back to the hills on Sunday, August 16, for the fourth installment of the Laventille Devotions series. The faithful turned up at Our Lady of Fatima Marian Shrine where Fr Johnbosco Oche Ogbole VC, a priest serving in the Sangre Grande/Coryal cluster (see page 20), delivered a strong homily on the Gospel of the Canaanite woman.
Drawing from Matthew 15:21–28, he reflected on the woman’s desperate plea for her daughter’s healing and the profound lessons her encounter with Jesus holds for every believer.
“She was in need of a miracle for her child, and she had no option but to visit the altar and the finisher of her prayer,” Fr Ogbole said. “And who is that? Jesus!”
The Nigerian priest highlighted the woman’s remarkable display of humility, tolerance, and persistence, three virtues he urged the congregation to cultivate.
“First of all, she displayed total humility by approaching Jesus and saying, ‘Son of David, have pity on me’,” he said. “That is humility.”
Fr Ogbole noted that Jesus initially ignored her, testing her patience. The disciples grew annoyed and urged Jesus to send her away, but the woman persisted. “Jesus called her here because He wanted to test her patience and her tolerance,” he explained.
When Jesus finally responded, His words seemed harsh: “It is not fair to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
“Which of you, sitting here, would be able to take that from Jesus?” Fr Ogbole asked the congregation. “If you pray to God one month, two months, three months, if your prayer is not answered, would you tolerate God again?”
The woman’s response, he said, revealed the depth of her faith.
“Even the hound dog takes scraps of food that falls from the master’s table,” she replied, refusing to be offended or discouraged. “She refused to give up,” the priest said. “That is persistence.”
He challenged the congregation to apply these lessons to their own lives, especially in moments of unanswered prayer.
“When you pray from January to November and there is no answer, do not give up,” he said. “It is to test your patience and your total humility.”
He pointed to Matthew 7:7: “Ask and you will receive. Seek and you shall find. Knock and the door will be opened.”
“It does not matter the length of time,” he said. “That is the reason why we need to continue to push.”
He concluded with the powerful acronym: “PUSH–Pray Until Something Happens” and reminded the congregation that true faith requires humility, tolerance, and persistence, even and especially, when God seems silent.
The next Laventille Devotions is scheduled for Sunday, September 13, with Fr Kizito Ameloko VC serving as the chief celebrant, and the Laventille Morvant Pastoral Area Youth Music Ministry leading the Devotions.
