Gospel
At that time: Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him. And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him, for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him. And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, ‘You are the Son of God.’ And he strictly ordered them not to make him known.
We imagine Jesus surrounded by a great crowd. People come to Him from many places; everyone wants to touch Him, everyone longs to be healed. Like the woman who suffered from haemorrhages, they believe that if they can just touch Him—even brush against His cloak—they will be healed. Their faith is born of trust: they know He has healed others.
And we today—do we seek that encounter with Jesus? Do we go to Him?
Because today we can do far more than touch His cloak. Today we can become one with Him each day when, in a state of grace, we receive His Body and His Blood. With what longing, with what gratitude, do we welcome Him?
Jesus has chosen to make Himself available to heal us only if we come to Him. God loved us first, yet He waits for our permission to heal us. What a great mystery of love!
Applied to Married Life
Luke: Yesterday at the office I spoke with Philip because he’s been anxious, worried, and overwhelmed. He told me that someone had recommended some Eastern relaxation techniques that promise great peace and all sorts of things.
Mary: And what did you say to him? He does sound rather lost. That doesn’t seem very Christian, does it?
Luke: No, of course not. I told him that true peace is found only in God. That Jesus Himself said He gives us His peace, and that those who are weary and burdened should come to Him, because He will give them rest.
Mary: How sad that so often we look for peace in the wrong place. And what did Philip say?
Luke: He thanked me and asked for help to return to God. He’s drifted away and stopped going to the sacraments—confession and the Eucharist.
Mary: Oh, what joy! Thanks be to God for making you an instrument for Philip. Glory be to God!
Luke: Glory be to Him for ever!
Mother,
thank you for giving us Jesus. Help us to receive Him in the Eucharist with the purity, humility, and devotion with which you received Him. Blessed and praised be the Lord for ever. Amen.