TUESDAY OF WEEK FOUR IN ORDINARY TIME - 2024

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

He took our sicknesses away,
and carried our diseases for us. MT 8:17

2 SAMUEL 18:9-10,14,24-25,30-19:3 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Our deepest sorrows and the greatest wounds we suffer are often caused by our children when they rebel against Your laws to their own destruction. The older we get and the longer they delay their conversion the deeper our anguish when we pray as we raise up our hearts and tear-stained faces to You. 

Absalom was a wicked son yet that did not stop David from loving him as tenderly as all fathers do and he mourned deeply when he heard that Absalom was dead. We mourn for our spiritually dead offspring. We are sorry for the mistakes made in raising them but we trust You, Lord, to take our mistakes and to draw good from them.

I believe Lord, that every prayer is answered, every sigh is heard, every tear is collected and You will right our wrongs because You are God and because You are Love and because they were first Yours before they were ours.

Thank You for this confidence that I have in You, Lord, that in the end, by the precious Blood of the Lamb, they will be saved and we will be together in Your Presence eternally sharing in the beatific vision.

 

The king shuddered. He went up to the room over the gate and burst into tears, and weeping said, ‘My son Absalom! My son! My son Absalom! Would I had died in your place! Absalom, my son, my son!’ 

PSALM 85(86):1-6 ©

Turn your ear, O Lord, and give answer

for I am poor and needy.
Preserve my life, for I am faithful;
save the servant who trusts in you.

You are my God, have mercy on me, Lord,

for I cry to you all the day long.
Give joy to your servant, O Lord,
for to you I lift up my soul.

O Lord, you are good and forgiving,

full of love to all who call.
Give heed, O Lord, to my prayer
and attend to the sound of my voice.

Turn your ear, Lord, and give answer.

MARK 5:21-43 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

There are many things that we learn from these two miracles of  Jairus' daughter and the woman who suffered from a haemorrhage for twelve years. Jairus was a synagogue official who having heard of the many miracles You had performed believed that You had the power to heal his desperately ill little girl. It is evident that he loved his daughter very much and was distraught at the thought that she could die so he came looking for You and finding You he fell at Your feet pleading with You to come and heal her. Your heart greatly moved with pity and compassion went with him and the large crowd went with You, pressing around You on every side.

We then have the next dramatic miracle. This poor woman in the crowd was desperate for healing of the malady that had almost destroyed her for 12 long years. She had no money left for physicians, her health was poor, all she had was her faith and she held on to it with all the fervor of her being. One thought filled her mind, she was convinced that if she could get close enough to touch just the hem of Your cloak she would be healed. She worked her way through the crowd that was pressing around You, touched Your garment, and was healed instantly. 

She believed that she could do this without being noticed but God always knows. God's power is always at work in those who believe. You turned around and said, 

‘Who touched my clothes?’ The disciples marveled that You could ask such a question considering the great crowd around You but there is a difference in the way we touch You - she touched You with the power of faith and power went out of You. It is a great reminder to us too, to approach You in faith and we too will experience Your power flooding into our whole being and healing us in every way that we require healing.

You insisted on knowing who touched You and the poor woman, trembling with fear, confessed that it was she and why she had done so. You looked at her tenderly and said, ‘My daughter,’ he said ‘your faith has restored you to health; go in peace and be free from your complaint.’

In the Sacrament of Reconciliation we need to approach You with sorrow for our sins, contrition of heart, and openness in confessing our guilt and shame, only then can we be cleansed and restored to perfect health in heart, mind soul, body, and spirit.

In the meantime, You arrived at Jairus' house only to find the whole house weeping and wailing as the little girl had died. ‘Why all this commotion and crying? You asked, ‘The child is not dead, but asleep.’ but they laughed at You and missed the opportunity of witnessing the miracle. Taking only the parents of the child and the three apostles Peter, James, and John You went to where the child lay and taking her by the hand You said, ‘Talitha, kum!’ which means, ‘Little girl, I tell you to get up.’ The little girl got up at once and began to walk about, for she was twelve years old. At this they were overcome with astonishment, and he ordered them strictly not to let anyone know about it, and told them to give her something to eat.

Let us never forget that we can never see Your power at work without faith and let us also never forget that You are God who sees all, knows all, and loves and cares for us as only a God of Love can - You cared that the little girl was hungry and You brought this fact to the attention of the parents when You asked them to give her something to eat.  Thank You for the Bread of Life that satisfies our hunger.