Our Saviour Jesus Christ abolished death
and he has proclaimed life through the Good News. 2 TIM 1:10
WISDOM 1:13-15,2:23-24 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
What a marvel is the work of man and woman. In the words of Wisdom, we were created imperishable for we were made in God's own image and nature. But Satan, envious of the man and woman created in God's image and likeness entered paradise and struck unerringly where God made Himself most vulnerable. The wonderful gift of our free will given to us so we would freely choose to love Him as He loves us also made us susceptible to the wiles of the Enemy.
We were created for life and not just life but abundant and eternal life. This is why He sent You into the world to save and redeem our fallen race. Thank You!
PSALM 30:2,4-6,11-13 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
In the psalm chosen for our contemplation today, the psalmist has expressed well the gratitude we owe You for our salvation. May every breath we breathe give You praise. May songs of thanksgiving never cease to overflow from our grateful hearts for all You have done for us. Thank You for snatching us from the jaws of death and the gates of hell.
Thank You for wiping away our tears and for filling us anew with Your love. Thank You for the forgiveness of our sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Thank You for sustaining us by giving us Your own Body and Blood as our food and drink.
The Lord listened and had pity.
The Lord came to my help.
For me you have changed my mourning into dancing:
O Lord my God, I will thank you forever.
The Lord came to my help.
For me you have changed my mourning into dancing:
O Lord my God, I will thank you forever.
2 CORINTHIANS 8:7,9,13-15 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
The Church never berates and harangues us to give. She does not guilt us into opening our purse strings. She does not threaten us with Your wrath if we fail to give as generously as we ought. But like St. Paul does today, she appeals to our conscience and our sense of justice.
We must recognize for ourselves the debt we owe, the price paid for our salvation, it is one that we can never repay but what is required of us is to have an empathetic spirit for those in need. All we have received is a gift from You. All that we possess both spiritual and temporal is because of Your goodness, mercy, kindness, and generosity. What we have received we are invited to share with the same goodness, mercy, kindness, and generosity that You have shown us. We are invited to be like You.
If we took a moment to seriously and honestly contemplate the price You paid for our redemption it would transform us forever and make us more aware of the debt we owe and which can be repaid in small measure by sharing what we have received gladly and generously just like the widow in the gospel did. She gave all she had to live on because of her great love for God and her faith that He was her provider.
Grant this grace to all Christians Lord, that we give some of what we have so as St. Paul says, 'That is how we strike a balance: as scripture says: The man who gathered much had none too much, the man who gathered little did not go short.'
MARK 5:21-43 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
My Soul's Beloved,
Both sought You, one did so publicly the other in secret, furtively, ashamed of the public disgrace she would cause if she was discovered. Jairus fell at Your feet and begged You earnestly, ‘My little daughter is desperately sick. Do come and lay your hands on her to make her better and save her life.’ Your response to this father's heartfelt plea was to go with him to his house and the large crowd that was with You accompanied You as well.
We are told that the crowd was so great that they were pushing, jostling, and pressing all around You. Unbeknownst to anyone in the crowd, there was a woman there, the evangelist Mark describes her situation well: Now there was a woman who had suffered from a haemorrhage for twelve years; after long and painful treatment under various doctors, she spent all she had without being any the better for it, in fact, she was getting worse.
In addition to her physical ailment and her poverty, her illness rendered her unclean according to the Law of Moses, and therefore she was separated from her family and society. She had nothing having lost even her money on physicians who only made her condition worse. We are told that she had heard about You, she heard of the many wonderful miracles You performed, and she had faith that if she only touched Your cloak she would be healed. She did and her malady left her instantly. She knew it, she felt it, she was healed.
Millions approach You in prayer every day, invoking You under different titles, and bringing their supplications to You, but the attitude of each differs, the quality of faith differs. Some of us like Jairus plead for the life of those we love, and some like this woman having reached rock bottom are suddenly thrown a lifeline. Both were rewarded because of their faith.
Jairus' daughter was dead - You took her by the hand, asked her to get up and she did. The woman touched You unseen, but You felt her touch, the depth of her faith caused power to go out of You and You turned around and said, 'Who touched my clothes?' One can only imagine the terror of that poor woman, the evangelist says she was frightened and trembling as she fell at Your feet and revealed that it was she who touched You and the reason why she did.
You commended her for her great faith which restored her to health and sent her away with Your blessing of peace. Who could ask for more?
Lord Jesus, grant us the kind of faith that expects miracles to happen. Amen.
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