Raising of Jairus' Daughter
Ilya Repin
Oil on canvas. 229 × 382 cm.
The State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg.
Posted on 02/03/2014 10:51:47 PM PST by Salvation
February 4, 2014
Tuesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 2 Sm 18:9-10, 14b, 24-25a, 30-19:3
Absalom unexpectedly came up against David’s servants.
He was mounted on a mule,
and, as the mule passed under the branches of a large terebinth,
his hair caught fast in the tree.
He hung between heaven and earth
while the mule he had been riding ran off.
Someone saw this and reported to Joab
that he had seen Absalom hanging from a terebinth.
And taking three pikes in hand,
he thrust for the heart of Absalom,
still hanging from the tree alive.
Now David was sitting between the two gates,
and a lookout went up to the roof of the gate above the city wall,
where he looked about and saw a man running all alone.
The lookout shouted to inform the king, who said,
“If he is alone, he has good news to report.”
The king said, “Step aside and remain in attendance here.”
So he stepped aside and remained there.
When the Cushite messenger came in, he said,
“Let my lord the king receive the good news
that this day the LORD has taken your part,
freeing you from the grasp of all who rebelled against you.”
But the king asked the Cushite, “Is young Absalom safe?”
The Cushite replied, “May the enemies of my lord the king
and all who rebel against you with evil intent
be as that young man!”
The king was shaken,
and went up to the room over the city gate to weep.
He said as he wept,
“My son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom!
If only I had died instead of you,
Absalom, my son, my son!”
Joab was told that the king was weeping and mourning for Absalom;
and that day’s victory was turned into mourning for the whole army
when they heard that the king was grieving for his son.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 86:1-2, 3-4, 5-6
R. (1a) Listen, Lord, and answer me.
Incline your ear, O LORD; answer me,
for I am afflicted and poor.
Keep my life, for I am devoted to you;
save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God.
R. Listen, Lord, and answer me.
Have mercy on me, O Lord,
for to you I call all the day.
Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
R. Listen, Lord, and answer me.
For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in kindness to all who call upon you.
Hearken, O LORD, to my prayer
and attend to the sound of my pleading.
R. Listen, Lord, and answer me.
Gospel Mk 5:21-43
When Jesus had crossed again in the boat
to the other side,
a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea.
One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward.
Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying,
“My daughter is at the point of death.
Please, come lay your hands on her
that she may get well and live.”
He went off with him
and a large crowd followed him.
There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years.
She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors
and had spent all that she had.
Yet she was not helped but only grew worse.
She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd
and touched his cloak.
She said, “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.”
Immediately her flow of blood dried up.
She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.
Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him,
turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who has touched my clothes?”
But his disciples said to him,
“You see how the crowd is pressing upon you,
and yet you ask, Who touched me?”
And he looked around to see who had done it.
The woman, realizing what had happened to her,
approached in fear and trembling.
She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth.
He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you.
Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.”
While he was still speaking,
people from the synagogue official’s house arrived and said,
“Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?”
Disregarding the message that was reported,
Jesus said to the synagogue official,
“Do not be afraid; just have faith.”
He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside
except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.
When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official,
he caught sight of a commotion,
people weeping and wailing loudly.
So he went in and said to them,
“Why this commotion and weeping?
The child is not dead but asleep.”
And they ridiculed him.
Then he put them all out.
He took along the child’s father and mother
and those who were with him
and entered the room where the child was.
He took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum,”
which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise!”
The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around.
At that they were utterly astounded.
He gave strict orders that no one should know this
and said that she should be given something to eat.
St. Jane Valois
Feast Day: February 04
Born:1464 :: Died:1505
St. Jane was a princess and the daughter of King Louis XI of France and Charlotte of Savoy. Since the king wanted a son, he was very disappointed when Jane was born deformed. He did not even want his little daughter to live at the palace. When the princess was just five years old, she was sent to live with other people.
Although she was not wanted by her own father, Jane was good and gentle with everyone. She was convinced that Jesus and Mary loved her. Jane also believed that the Lord would use her to do good in his name. And she was right.
When she grew up, Jane decided that she did not want to marry. She had given herself to Jesus and his Blessed Mother. But her father forced her to marry the duke of Orleans for political reasons. Jane accepted God's will and was a devoted wife for twenty-two years.
After the duke became king, however, he sent Jane to live by herself in a far-off town-ship. The queen did not let herself become resentful. Instead, she exclaimed: "God be praised! He has permitted this that I may serve him better than I have up until now."
Jane lived a prayerful life. She practiced penances and acts of kindness. She gave all her money to the poor. She even started an order of sisters called the Sisters of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She spent the rest of her life joyfully for Jesus and his Mother. St. Jane died in 1505.
Reflection: Let us pray for the gift of seeing hardships as opportunities to strengthen our faith in Christ, and may we respond to every hardship by giving it an eternal value.
What does it mean to say that Jesus is "the only-begotten Son of God"?
When Jesus calls himself "God's only-begotten Son" (or "only Son", Jn 3:16) and Peter and others bear witness to this, the expression means that of all human beings only Jesus is more than a man and has a unique relationship to God, his Father.
In many passages of the New Testament (Jn 1:14, 18; 1 Jn 4:9; Heb 1:2, and so on) Jesus is called "Son". At his baptism and his Transfiguration, the voice from heaven calls Jesus "my beloved Son". Jesus discloses to his disciples his unique relationship to his heavenly Father: "All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him" (Mt 11:27). The fact that Jesus Christ really is God's Son comes to light at the Resurrection. (YOUCAT question 74)
Dig Deeper: CCC section (441-445) and other references here.
Part 1: The Profession of Faith (26 - 1065)
Section 2: The Profession of the Christian Faith (185 - 1065)
Chapter 2: I Believe in Jesus Christ, the Only Son of God (422 - 682)
Article 2: "And in Jesus Christ, His Only Son, our Lord" (430 - 455)
III. THE ONLY SON OF GOD ⇡
In the Old Testament, "son of God" is a title given to the angels, the Chosen People, the children of Israel, and their kings.44 It signifies an adoptive sonship that establishes a relationship of particular intimacy between God and his creature. When the promised Messiah-King is called "son of God", it does not necessarily imply that he was more than human, according to the literal meaning of these texts. Those who called Jesus "son of God", as the Messiah of Israel, perhaps meant nothing more than this.45
44.
Cf. Deut 14:1; (LXX) 32:8; Job 1:6; Ex 4:22; Hos 2:1; 11:1; Jer 3:19; Sir 36:11; Wis 18:13; 2 Sam 7:14; Ps 82:6.
45.
Cf. 1 Chr 17:13; Ps 2:7; Mt 27:54; Lk 23:47.
Such is not the case for Simon Peter when he confesses Jesus as "the Christ, the Son of the living God", for Jesus responds solemnly: "Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven."46 Similarly Paul will write, regarding his conversion on the road to Damascus, "When he who had set me apart before I was born, and had called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles..."47 "And in the synagogues immediately [Paul] proclaimed Jesus, saying, 'He is the Son of God.'"48 From the beginning this acknowledgment of Christ's divine sonship will be the center of the apostolic faith, first professed by Peter as the Church's foundation.49
46.
47.
48.
49.
Cf. 1 Thes 1:10; Jn 20:31; Mt 16:18.
Peter could recognize the transcendent character of the Messiah's divine sonship because Jesus had clearly allowed it to be so understood. To his accusers' question before the Sanhedrin, "Are you the Son of God, then?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am."50 Well before this, Jesus referred to himself as "the Son" who knows the Father, as distinct from the "servants" God had earlier sent to his people; he is superior even to the angels.51 He distinguished his sonship from that of his disciples by never saying "our Father", except to command them: "You, then, pray like this: 'Our Father'", and he emphasized this distinction, saying "my Father and your Father".52
50.
Lk 22:70; cf. Mt 26:64; Mk 14:61-62.
51.
Cf. Mt 11:27; 21:34-38; 24:36.
52.
Mt 5:48; 6:8-9; 7:21; Lk 11:13; Jn 20:17.
The Gospels report that at two solemn moments, the Baptism and the Transfiguration of Christ, the voice of the Father designates Jesus his "beloved Son".53 Jesus calls himself the "only Son of God", and by this title affirms his eternal pre-existence.54 He asks for faith in "the name of the only Son of God".55 In the centurion's exclamation before the crucified Christ, "Truly this man was the Son of God",56 that Christian confession is already heard. Only in the Paschal mystery can the believer give the title "Son of God" its full meaning.
53.
Cf. Mt 3:17; cf. 17:5.
54.
55.
56.
After his Resurrection, Jesus' divine sonship becomes manifest in the power of his glorified humanity. He was "designated Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his Resurrection from the dead".57 The apostles can confess: "We have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."58
57.
Rom 1:3; cf. Acts 13:33.
58.
| Mark | |||
| English: Douay-Rheims | Latin: Vulgata Clementina | Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000) | |
| Mark 5 |
|||
| 21. | And when Jesus had passed again in the ship over the strait, a great multitude assembled together unto him, and he was nigh unto the sea. | Et cum transcendisset Jesus in navi rursum trans fretum, convenit turba multa ad eum, et erat circa mare. | και διαπερασαντος του ιησου εν τω πλοιω παλιν εις το περαν συνηχθη οχλος πολυς επ αυτον και ην παρα την θαλασσαν |
| 22. | And there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue named Jairus: and seeing him, falleth down at his feet. | Et venit quidam de archisynagogis nomine Jairus, et videns eum procidit ad pedes ejus, | και ιδου ερχεται εις των αρχισυναγωγων ονοματι ιαειρος και ιδων αυτον πιπτει προς τους ποδας αυτου |
| 23. | And he besought him much, saying: My daughter is at the point of death, come, lay thy hand upon her, that she may be safe, and may live. | et deprecabatur eum multum, dicens : Quoniam filia mea in extremis est, veni, impone manum super eam, ut salva sit, et vivat. | και παρεκαλει αυτον πολλα λεγων οτι το θυγατριον μου εσχατως εχει ινα ελθων επιθης αυτη τας χειρας οπως σωθη και ζησεται |
| 24. | And he went with him, and a great multitude followed him, and they thronged him. | Et abiit cum illo, et sequebatur eum turba multa, et comprimebant eum. | και απηλθεν μετ αυτου και ηκολουθει αυτω οχλος πολυς και συνεθλιβον αυτον |
| 25. | And a woman who was under an issue of blood twelve years, | Et mulier, quæ erat in profluvio sanguinis annis duodecim, | και γυνη τις ουσα εν ρυσει αιματος ετη δωδεκα |
| 26. | And had suffered many things from many physicians; and had spent all that she had, and was nothing the better, but rather worse, | et fuerat multa perpessa a compluribus medicis : et erogaverat omnia sua, nec quidquam profecerat, sed magis deterius habebat : | και πολλα παθουσα υπο πολλων ιατρων και δαπανησασα τα παρ αυτης παντα και μηδεν ωφεληθεισα αλλα μαλλον εις το χειρον ελθουσα |
| 27. | When she had heard of Jesus, came in the crowd behind him, and touched his garment. | cum audisset de Jesu, venit in turba retro, et tetigit vestimentum ejus : | ακουσασα περι του ιησου ελθουσα εν τω οχλω οπισθεν ηψατο του ιματιου αυτου |
| 28. | For she said: If I shall touch but his garment, I shall be whole. | dicebat enim : Quia si vel vestimentum ejus tetigero, salva ero. | ελεγεν γαρ οτι καν των ιματιων αυτου αψωμαι σωθησομαι |
| 29. | And forthwith the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the evil. | Et confestim siccatus est fons sanguinis ejus : et sensit corpore quia sanata esset a plaga. | και ευθεως εξηρανθη η πηγη του αιματος αυτης και εγνω τω σωματι οτι ιαται απο της μαστιγος |
| 30. | And immediately Jesus knowing in himself the virtue that had proceeded from him, turning to the multitude, said: Who hath touched my garments? | Et statim Jesus in semetipso cognoscens virtutem quæ exierat de illo, conversus ad turbam, aiebat : Quis tetigit vestimenta mea ? | και ευθεως ο ιησους επιγνους εν εαυτω την εξ αυτου δυναμιν εξελθουσαν επιστραφεις εν τω οχλω ελεγεν τις μου ηψατο των ιματιων |
| 31. | And his disciples said to him: Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou who hath touched me? | Et dicebant ei discipuli sui : Vides turbam comprimentem te, et dicis : Quis me tetigit ? | και ελεγον αυτω οι μαθηται αυτου βλεπεις τον οχλον συνθλιβοντα σε και λεγεις τις μου ηψατο |
| 32. | And he looked about to see her who had done this. | Et circumspiciebat videre eam, quæ hoc fecerat. | και περιεβλεπετο ιδειν την τουτο ποιησασαν |
| 33. | But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. | Mulier vero timens et tremens, sciens quod factum esset in se, venit et procidit ante eum, et dixit ei omnem veritatem. | η δε γυνη φοβηθεισα και τρεμουσα ειδυια ο γεγονεν επ αυτη ηλθεν και προσεπεσεν αυτω και ειπεν αυτω πασαν την αληθειαν |
| 34. | And he said to her: Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole: go in peace, and be thou whole of thy disease. | Ille autem dixit ei : Filia, fides tua te salvam fecit : vade in pace, et esto sana a plaga tua. | ο δε ειπεν αυτη θυγατερ η πιστις σου σεσωκεν σε υπαγε εις ειρηνην και ισθι υγιης απο της μαστιγος σου |
| 35. | While he was yet speaking, some come from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying: Thy daughter is dead: why dost thou trouble the master any further? | Adhuc eo loquente, veniunt ab archisynagago, dicentes : Quia filia tua mortua est : quid ultra vexas magistrum ? | ετι αυτου λαλουντος ερχονται απο του αρχισυναγωγου λεγοντες οτι η θυγατηρ σου απεθανεν τι ετι σκυλλεις τον διδασκαλον |
| 36. | But Jesus having heard the word that was spoken, saith to the ruler of the synagogue: Fear not, only believe. | Jesus autem audito verbo quod dicebatur, ait archisynagogo : Noli timere : tantummodo crede. | ο δε ιησους ευθεως ακουσας τον λογον λαλουμενον λεγει τω αρχισυναγωγω μη φοβου μονον πιστευε |
| 37. | And he admitted not any man to follow him, but Peter, and James, and John the brother of James. | Et non admisit quemquam se sequi nisi Petrum, et Jacobum, et Joannem fratrem Jacobi. | και ουκ αφηκεν ουδενα αυτω συνακολουθησαι ει μη πετρον και ιακωβον και ιωαννην τον αδελφον ιακωβου |
| 38. | And they come to the house of the ruler of the synagogue; and he seeth a tumult, and people weeping and wailing much. | Et veniunt in domum archisynagogi, et videt tumultum, et flentes, et ejulantes multum. | και ερχεται εις τον οικον του αρχισυναγωγου και θεωρει θορυβον κλαιοντας και αλαλαζοντας πολλα |
| 39. | And going in, he saith to them: Why make you this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. | Et ingressus, ait illis : Quid turbamini, et ploratis ? puella non est mortua, sed dormit. | και εισελθων λεγει αυτοις τι θορυβεισθε και κλαιετε το παιδιον ουκ απεθανεν αλλα καθευδει |
| 40. | And they laughed him to scorn. But he having put them all out, taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying. | Et irridebant eum. Ipse vero ejectis omnibus assumit patrem, et matrem puellæ, et qui secum erant, et ingreditur ubi puella erat jacens. | και κατεγελων αυτου ο δε εκβαλων παντας παραλαμβανει τον πατερα του παιδιου και την μητερα και τους μετ αυτου και εισπορευεται οπου ην το παιδιον ανακειμενον |
| 41. | And taking the damsel by the hand, he saith to her: Talitha cumi, which is, being interpreted: Damsel (I say to thee) arise. | Et tenens manum puellæ, ait illi : Talitha cumi, quod est interpretatum : Puella (tibi dico), surge. | και κρατησας της χειρος του παιδιου λεγει αυτη ταλιθα κουμι ο εστιν μεθερμηνευομενον το κορασιον σοι λεγω εγειραι |
| 42. | And immediately the damsel rose up, and walked: and she was twelve years old: and they were astonished with a great astonishment. | Et confestim surrexit puella, et ambulabat : erat autem annorum duodecim : et obstupuerunt stupore magno. | και ευθεως ανεστη το κορασιον και περιεπατει ην γαρ ετων δωδεκα και εξεστησαν εκστασει μεγαλη |
| 43. | And he charged them strictly that no man should know it: and commanded that something should be given her to eat. | Et præcepit illis vehementer ut nemo id sciret : et dixit dari illi manducare. | και διεστειλατο αυτοις πολλα ινα μηδεις γνω τουτο και ειπεν δοθηναι αυτη φαγειν |
Tuesday, February 4
Liturgical Color: Green
St. Peter Julian Eymard was born on this
day in 1811. He was a French priest
noted for his preaching and love of the
Eucharist. St. Peter founded the Society
of the Blessed Sacrament, an order of
priests noted for their devotion to the Eucharist.
Daily Readings for:February 04, 2014
(Readings on USCCB website)
Collect: Grant us, Lord our God, that we may honor you with all our mind, and love everyone in truth of heart. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
RECIPES
o Tuscan-Style Peppered Chicken
ACTIVITIES
PRAYERS
o Collect for the Feast of St. Andrew Corsini
o Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes
LIBRARY
· Ordinary Time: February 4th
· Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Ordinary Time
Old Calendar: St. Andrew Corsini, bishop and confessor
According to the 1962 Missal of Bl. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. Andrew who was born in the fourteenth century in Florence, Italy. He fell into bad company; but soon, touched by the grief of his mother, the young nobleman entered the Carmelite Order. Having served as prior of his convent, he was chosen to fill the vacant bishopric of Fiesole. He continually helped the poor, doing so in secret in the case of those who were ashamed to make known their distress. By showing his people the true nature of Christian peace, Bishop Andrew put an end to a number of troublesome disturbances in the city. He died on the feast of the Epiphany, 1373.
St. Andrew Corsini
St. Andrew Corsini lived from 1302 to 1373. While still carrying him in her womb, his mother dreamed she had given birth to a wolf that sauntered to the gate of the Carmelite monastery, and entering the vestibule of the church, was changed to a lamb. Andrew was reared as a pious and God-fearing youth, but little by little he succumbed to the pleasures of the world in spite of frequent warnings and reproofs from his mother. After he became aware that his parents had vowed him to the service of Blessed Mary, he mended his ways and at the age of seventeen entered the Carmelite Order. Though persistently tempted and assailed by the devil, he never swerved from his holy decision. A man of austere penance, he fasted continuously, always wore a hair shirt, and prayed the penitential psalms daily. For humility's sake he often washed the feet of the poor and beggars. His special gift from God was the grace to effect the conversion of hardened sinners. In 1360, despite his efforts to the contrary, he was made bishop of Fiesole in Tuscany.
— Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch
Patron: Civil disorder; riot.
Symbols: Holding a cross, with a wolf and lamb at his feet, and floating above a battlefield on a cloud or a white palfrey.
Things to Do:
4th Week in Ordinary Time
Please, come. (Mark 5:23)
Our hearts go out to the fathers we see in today’s readings because of the pain they must have experienced. In the first reading, David is sent reeling after he gets word that his son Absalom has been killed. And in Mark’s Gospel, Jairus throws himself at Jesus’ feet, begging him to heal his dying daughter.
Every parent wants the best for his or her children. When the children are doing well, fathers rejoice, and mothers give thanks for God’s blessings. But we all know that life is never perfect. Children’s lives can get messy, cracked, or just plain broken. And from time to time, every parent experiences heartbreak over their children’s suffering. Sometimes it’s because of a child’s illness or difficult life circumstances, as in Jairus’ case. At other times, it’s the way a child’s choices have exposed him or her to needless heartache and peril, as happened with Absalom. Every parent knows what it’s like to turn to the Lord and plead, “Please, come” (Mark 5:23).
The good news is that God always comes. He is our Father, and he knows what it’s like for a parent’s heart to be broken. If you have children, let Jairus be your model: run to God! Run to Jesus in prayer, and lay your children at his feet every day. Intercede for them. Ask him for wisdom. Ask him to make you strong and loving, patient and compassionate. Reach out and touch him, as the woman did who touched his cloak. Believe that as you do, Jesus’ power will be released into you and into your family.
God wants all of you who are parents to know that you don’t have to fulfill your role all by yourselves. In fact, he is more invested in your children than you are! His love for them is deep, strong, and everlasting. Imagine how tenderly Jesus took the hand of Jairus’ little girl as he raised her from death. He sees you and your family with that same tenderness of heart. So take comfort in the knowledge that you and your children are in his strong, gentle hands.
“Jesus, I bring my family before you right now. Please come, and release your healing love and grace into our lives.”
2 Samuel 18:9-10, 14, 24-25, 30–19:3; Psalm 86:1-6
Daily Marriage Tip for February 4, 2014:
A good argument can be a labor of love. Have something sensitive or difficult to talk about with your spouse? Try holding hands and maintaining direct eye contact when you are having a discussion about a disagreement.
One must begin with the Mother
Tuesday, 04 February 2014 22:10
The Annonciades, having been obliged to flee their monastery in Bruyères, found a compassionate welcome among the Benedictines of Rambervillers. Profoundly edified, and touched to the quick by the grace of Benedictine life as it was being lived there, Mother Saint John (Catherine de Bar) requested authorisation to leave the Order of the Annonciade for the Order of Saint Benedict. In this text, dating from Catherine de Bar’s Benedictine noviciate (1639–1640) in the monastery of Rambervillers, she reveals the depth of her Marian spirituality, already marked by the exquisite theological sensibility of the École française. Catherine de Bar follows a pious literary convention by referring to herself as “a person.” Certain characteristic Mectildian themes emerge in this text: hiddenness, Jesus Christ inwardly produced in the soul, the value of little devotions faithfully carried out, and utter nothingness in God. I know that my dear old friend, Monsignor A.B.C. will savour this text; he kept coming to mind as I translated it.
Mary Hidden in Her Son
To the glory and praise of the august and all immaculate Mother of God. A person having confidence in the most holy Mother of God from the beginning of her religious life begged her to teach her how to pray and meditate on the sacred mysteries of Our Lord. One day, being at prayer, in the morning as usual, and wanting to occupy herself inwardly, this person addressed her amiable Mother of goodness as she was accustomed to do. This august Mother of love seemed to disappear. This person, wanted still to see her and to have her as the object reflection; this amiable Mother presented Our Lord Jesus Christ to her, and held herself standing, as it were, behind her divine Son. She made her understand that she was hidden in her Son, and that it was in her power, by her gentle kindness, to produce Him in souls and to make Him known, and that in producing Him in this way, she was even more intimately present to the soul. This grace was the fruit of little devotions and practices carried out in her honour, and the effect of her confidence. This soul was then illumined with regard to the following truths:
What is Given to Mary Goes to God
Firstly, all the duties of love, of tenderness, of confidence, of respect and of fidelity in her service redound unto God in a manner advantageous to the soul. Given that this august Mother of goodness is divinely cast into the very depths of God, all that is done in her honour returns to this, its adorable source. She herself is utterly humbled in God in a manner incomprehensible to our spirits. I daresay and I can give assurance that sincere devotion to the most pure and most immaculate Mother of God is the gateway of salvation and of the interior life.
Tenderness for Mary Leads to Union with Christ
The second truth is that although it really seems that the soul is more attached by tenderness to the most holy Virgin than to God, if the soul is faithful, she will become very learned in the ways of grace, and this tenderness, if it be holy as it ought to be, will never fail to carry the soul to a most intimate union with Our Lord Jesus Christ, and I daresay in a most singular way, because the most holy Mother of God, having no regard for herself cannot hold onto any soul for herself. This is why, of necessity, she casts them all again deeply into Jesus Christ.
Mary Cannot Be Loved Too Much
Might it please God that the whole world know this truth; one would never have a scruple about loving too much the glorious [Lady] sovereign of heaven and of earth. According to my own little experience and the manner by which I learned this, one must begin with the Mother. Then will she lead us to her divine Son. Who has more power to make Him known and to produce Him in us if not she who conceived Him by the operation o the Holy Spirit?
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Tuesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
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Mark 5:21-43 When Jesus had crossed again (in the boat) to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea. One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward. Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying, "My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live." He went off with him, and a large crowd followed him and pressed upon him. There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years. She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors and had spent all that she had. Yet she was not helped but only grew worse. She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak. She said, "If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured." Immediately her flow of blood dried up. She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who has touched my clothes?" But his disciples said to him, "You see how the crowd is pressing upon you, and yet you ask, ´Who touched me?´" And he looked around to see who had done it. The woman, realizing what had happened to her, approached in fear and trembling. She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth. He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction." While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official´s house arrived and said, "Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?" Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue official, "Do not be afraid; just have faith." He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official, he caught sight of a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. So he went in and said to them, "Why this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep." And they ridiculed him. Then he put them all out. He took along the child´s father and mother and those who were with him and entered the room where the child was. He took the child by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum," which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise!" The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around. (At that) they were utterly astounded. He gave strict orders that no one should know this and said that she should be given something to eat. Introductory Prayer: Lord, who should I turn to first but you? You have given me another day. This gift calls me to come to you first, to hear you first. My faith tells me there can be nothing better than to follow your plan; my hope is to bring you into my life and to other people; my love wants to be fuller and better — it wants to be like yours, Lord. Petition: Grant me the grace of deeper trust and faith in all moments of hardship. 1. “…afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years.” When problems are prolonged, or reach fever-pitch levels, we can get the mistaken impression that God has lost interest. Somehow he seems no longer moved by our misery. All the signs say he has forgotten us, abandoned us and left us hanging. 2. “And they ridiculed him. Then he put them all out.” The dismal voices of his “friends” come to the father. Though they have seen the miracle of the woman with the hemorrhage, they coldly say, “Your daughter is dead. Be realistic. It is no use to go on.” True, in the name of realism, we can dismiss hope and cooperation with Christ’s action in our life. We can ridicule Christ whenever he wants to work in mystery and outside our human limits. We can be tempted to abandon trust in God in the name of reaffirming control over our world. “Let’s be realistic,” we say. “It will never work.” These phrases veil a weak faith, a poor faith, a sterile or compartmentalized faith that works only when everything makes sense to us, when everything is easy. Where there is this lack of faith, Christ cannot work. 3. “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.” Many say they are near Christ, yet few are acknowledged by Christ as close to him. Many were brushing against him that day, many were verbally praising him, many were serving him, but only one touched him and got his full attention. Why? Only one made an act of unconditional faith. What is the secret? How can we really get his attention, truly speak to his heart? None are closer than those who trust him, who humbly depend on him, and who wish to live from him. The woman’s unconditional faith was open to whatever would happen, whatever would be Christ’s response. Those who suffer and support themselves patiently with faith and prayer experience new levels of union with Christ. Conversation with Christ: Lord let me use hardships to build newer levels of trust and intimacy with you. Open my heart to seek you on your terms. Resolution: I will acknowledge the presence of Christ in all the difficulties of today. |
In the first reading, Absalom, the son of King David who led a rebellion against his father, is slain in battle. David mourns greatly the loss of his son even though he had been his enemy. David’s attitude is commendable. We should not hate our enemies. On the contrary, Jesus tells us to love them. And when they are confounded, we should hope that they will repent of their evil deeds. God always hopes for the repentance of the wicked man so that he may be converted and live.
In the gospel, we see how faith can do wonders. Whatever suffering or tragedy we encounter in life we should not despair and feel hopeless. We must trust in the Lord who can turn things around for us if he wants to. He can cure our sicknesses, be they physical or spiritual. But we must believe in his power to do so. Yet even if things do not totally get better, we should continue seeking God’s message for us in our difficulties. Only then do we become true followers of Jesus trusting in him both in times of successes and failures.
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All Issues > Volume 30, Issue 2
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Heavenly Father, in Your love for us, protect against the wickedness of the devil, those helpless little ones to whom You have given the gift of life.
Touch with pity the hearts of those women pregnant in our world today who are not thinking of motherhood.
Help them to see that the child they carry is made in Your image - as well as theirs - made for eternal life.
Dispel their fear and selfishness and give them true womanly hearts to love their babies and give them birth and all the needed care that a mother can give.
We ask this through Jesus Christ, Your Son, Our Lord, Who lives and reigns with You and Holy Spirit, One God, forever and ever. Amen.
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