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The Beauty of the Beatitudes

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“Behold, your reward will be great in heaven.”

“Blessed are you who are poor,

for the kingdom of God is yours.

Blessed are you who are now hungry,

for you will be satisfied.

Blessed are you who are now weeping,

for you will laugh.

Blessed are you when people hate you,

and when they exclude and insult you,

and denounce your name as evil

on account of the Son of Man.

Rejoice and leap for joy on that day!

Behold, your reward will be great in heaven.”

The Beatitudes are an invitation to place Christ first in our life and follow His ways so as to better experience the joy of the Gospel and use the things of this world for His glory, such as using wealth, power, popularity, influence, or success to build up what is good, beautiful and holy. 

The Lord invites us to encounter Him and experience Heaven here on Earth. Jesus reminds us that God’s ways are not the ways of this world, so we are not called to be troubled or discouraged when others mock us or persecute us, but instead, we are invited to rejoice in our trials and difficulties, for we know God can use all things to His greater glory. When we experience difficult times, Jesus wants us to not grow hard-hearted during these trials but rather serve as a witness to Christ and love them.

“Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in Heaven.”The word “blessed” means truly happy, filled with joy, and knowing God blesses you. The Sermon on the Mount is a path to not only growing closer to Christ but living out our Catholic faith and experiencing Christian joy despite what is going on around us.

The Beatitudes remind us that we live for Heaven and Heaven’s reward, not an earthly reward. In an age where we want “instant success and reward,” it is essential to cling to the Beatitudes and make sure that we seek to encounter the Lord and follow His ways.

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Emily Jaminet is a Catholic author, speaker, radio personality, wife, and mother of seven children. She earned a bachelor’s degree in mental health and human services from the Franciscan University of Steubenville.  She is the co-founder of www.inspirethefaith.com and the Executive Director of The Sacred Heart Enthronement Network www.WelcomeHisHeart.com. She has co-authored several Catholic books and her next one, Secrets of the Sacred Heart: Claiming Jesus’ Twelve Promises in Your Life, comes out in Oct. 2020. Emily serves on the board of the Columbus Catholic Women’s Conference, contributes to Relevant Radio and Catholic Mom.com.

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A Heart That Beats With Love For Us

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Have you ever been so hungry that you were in danger of collapsing? Jesus is not usually prone to hyperbole, so his comment here seems factual:  if he sends the crowd that has been following him for three days away to their homes, “they will collapse on the way.”

Jesus’ heart is moved with pity for them and is determined to do something to help these thousands of people, while the disciples seem to be somber realists. “What else can we possibly do?” they say. They are out of options.

But love is never out of options. Love finds a way. And the endless, creative, Love of God can make a way where there is no way. And so, Jesus orders them all to sit down and he takes the seven loaves and gives thanks. To Whom? To the Father in Heaven, undoubtedly. Then he breaks the bread and gives it to the disciples to distribute.

Does this sound familiar? This thanksgiving and blessing and breaking of bread is the way Jesus prefigures the Eucharist over and over in the Gospels. As a prefiguring of the Eucharist, we see that Jesus does the blessing and his disciples take care of the distribution. And we see that there is always, always enough to satisfy all. There is always an abundance, for all. An OVERabundance, even.  When everyone has eaten and is satisfied, the disciples gather the fragments and fill seven baskets! This Living Bread that came down from Heaven may seem small, but it will never run out.

And we are reminded that the Eucharist we receive is a prefiguring of the Heavenly Banquet to which we are all called, even as it is our sustenance along the way. Without the Eucharist, we are in danger of collapsing on our way to the Wedding Feast, but Jesus has made certain that we will have all we need to arrive whole and prepared!

The next time we approach the altar to receive the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ, let’s recall with confidence that this is the same Jesus who fed the multitude because his heart had pity on them, and we can be confident that he feeds us his very SELF because his heart is beating with love for us as well.  

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Kathryn Mulderink, MA, is married to Robert, Station Manager for Holy Family Radio. Together they have seven children (including Father Rob), and four grandchildren. She is President of the local community of Secular Discalced Carmelites and has published five books and many articles. Over the last 30 years, she has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE, and as a writer and voice talent for Catholic Radio. Currently, she serves the Church by writing and speaking, and by collaborating with various parishes and to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Her website is www.KathrynTherese.com

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Be Opened!

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In today’s Gospel, Mark tells the story of Jesus healing the man who was deaf and had a speech impediment. Jesus put His fingers in the man’s ear, put spit on his tongue, and looked up to heaven saying: “Be opened.” The man could then hear and speak without the impediment.

Metaphorically, we are a lot like the man who could not hear and didn’t speak well. When it comes to the word of God and teaching others about God, we often have difficulty listening and speaking.

God only asks for one hour a week, but we know that we cannot build a relationship with Him in just 1/168 of the week. Imagine telling your children or your significant other that you want to just spend one hour each week with them. I suspect they would feel cast aside or unimportant. Now stand in front of a crucifix, look at Christ, and tell Him He only deserves one hour a week. It hurts to do that, doesn’t it?

If we really want to get to know God better, we must talk to Him and learn about Him every day.

We can make it easy to include Him in our daily lives, but it does take a little effort to find the way that suits our life the best. Additionally, it takes some determination to put away the phones, to shut out the outside world, and to really reflect on those two words we want to hear from Christ: “Be opened!”

So take some time today to decide how you want to start improving your relationship with Christ. Do you like to read about Him? Do you want someone to read to you or talk to you about Him—like in a podcast? Do you want to watch videos? Do you want to just spend quiet time in prayer? Do you want to do something different every day?

There’s so much we can do to praise God, to acknowledge His presence, and then to welcome Him into our daily lives. 

With Lent fast approaching, we may have already thought about how we will prepare, but let us not wait until then to transform our spiritual life. Let us make a life change that will last way beyond Lent. 

From this point on, give God 20 minutes of your day. Open your heart, open your mind, and open your life to Him. And rejoice that He is calling you and saying: “Be opened!”

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Susan Ciancio has a BA in psychology and a BA in sociology from the University of Notre Dame, with an MA in liberal studies from Indiana University. For the past 17 years, she has worked as a professional editor and writer, editing both fiction and nonfiction books, magazine articles, blogs, educational lessons, professional materials and website content. Eleven of those years have been in the pro-life sector. Currently Susan freelances and writes weekly for HLI, edits for American Life League, and is the editor of Celebrate Life Magazine. She also serves as executive editor for the Culture of Life Studies Program-an educational nonprofit program for K-12 students.

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Escape

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I think it is good for us to see Jesus in this moment. Jesus, fully God, is also fully human. We see Jesus experience the full range of human emotions in the Gospels. Jesus weeping for Lazarus, Jesus lashing out at the money changers in the temple, Jesus participating at the Wedding at Cana – the Gospel writers were not afraid to show Jesus’ depth of feeling. Today’s Gospel highlights a more private emotion, one that we don’t always acknowledge or speak about – the need to escape.

There isn’t a parent out there who hasn’t felt like Jesus at the start of today’s Gospel reading. Jesus, weary and in need of a break, enters a house and “wanted no one to know about it” (v 24). Every parent has had a moment where they have hidden in the bathroom, a bedroom, the garage, the car, even a closet, because they just needed a minute. A minute of quiet, of not talking, of not listening. Just a few minutes by themselves. That’s what Jesus was seeking.

In light of the changes the world has undergone the past two years, this feeling has come to the forefront of many people’s consciousness. Even those of us who aren’t parents have most likely felt this urge, especially during the spring of 2020 when so many were isolated from their usual daily routines and familiar interactions. Somewhere deep within all of us, even within the most social person, is a need for quiet.

Our need for quiet and stillness is a gift from the Lord, even if it seems hard to come by. Psalm 46:11 says, “Be still and know that I am God.” Quiet is often elusive. Our minds are full of necessary and unnecessary information. We are flooded with stimuli between our phones, our TVs, even some billboards feature flashing and changing graphics. Those with children have spent many more hours with them than perhaps planned. The time together ought to be cherished, but it also has caused an immense amount of strain on families who struggled and continue to struggle with the changing conditions and schedules that are outside of their control. 

The desire to want a break while under these kinds of stress is normal. It is time we recognized more positively that people need quality breaks. They need moments of quiet, of stillness and of aloneness. Jesus sought it. We each need to seek it. God speaks to us in the quiet of our heart. We have to take the time to be still so we can listen.

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Kate Taliaferro is an Air Force wife and mother. She is blessed to be able to homeschool, bake bread and fold endless piles of laundry. When not planning a school day, writing a blog post or cooking pasta, Kate can be found curled up with a book or working with some kind of fiber craft. Kate blogs at DailyGraces.net.

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The Cultivation of Interior Devotion

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The parable Christ tells in today’s Gospel would have been difficult for the people of His time. There were strict laws on what constituted clean food and unclean food but now Jesus is telling them that all foods are clean. In doing so, He seemingly contradicts or defies the law. Even the apostles wonder at His words. His explanation to the apostles helps us understand the purpose of the law in relation to our interior disposition. 

Laws do not exist for their own sake. That is to say that the reason for the law regarding clean and unclean foods is not simply to limit the food that the people could eat. Rather, they exist to cultivate the interior spiritual dispositions of the people. Therefore, what seems to be Christ’s abandonment of the law regarding clean and unclean food, is really a fulfillment of that law. He fulfills this law by focusing on what it is meant for. Namely, their interior devotion, not their exterior display of piety. 

The idea was that whatever we allow into our bodies is also what we produce. The same thing is true for our minds and hearts. If we allow “evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly” into our minds and hearts, we will produce all those evil things. 

Are there evil things we allow to infiltrate our peace of mind and our hearts of charity? The spirit of gossip or selfishness or judgment? Are there times when we get caught up in the distractions of our world that we forget that we are meant to be the light of Christ to others? 

May we always remember that we are meant to show Christ to others through our example of living a virtue-driven life. May we always strive to live intentionally and cultivate virtue in our relationships, vocations, jobs, and all other interactions.

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Dakota currently lives in Denver, CO and teaches English Language Development and Spanish to high schoolers. She is married to the love of her life, Ralph. In her spare time, she reads, goes to breweries, and watches baseball. Dakota’s favorite saints are St. John Paul II (how could it not be?) and St. José Luis Sánchez del Río. She is passionate about her faith and considers herself blessed at any opportunity to share that faith with others. Check out more of her writing at https://dakotaleonard16.blogspot.com.

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Far From Him

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Today we have the classic verse that people sometimes use to say that Jesus doesn’t care about the law as long as you are a good person. Of course, this couldn’t be further from the truth, but it does warrant some explanation and critical thinking. 

Last year when my wife and I took a class on the Old Testament it became very clear how important laws were to the people in the ancient near east. If you don’t believe me just read through the book of Leviticus and you will see what I mean. These laws were put in place to bring people back into holiness. 

Now you may be thinking to yourself, why would they need laws? If they only had love, those laws would be obsolete right? In a perfect world the answer is yes, but they were freed from slavery in Egypt and then pretty quickly started worshipping the golden calf. Human beings, you and I included, need a lot of help in order to be holy. 

In the time of the Old Testament this help was given through physical action that God asked them to do (laws) like various cleansing rituals. Today, this help is given to us through grace from the sacraments, still physical actions that communicate spiritual realities. So what does all of this background have to do with today’s reading? Jesus warns the Pharisees that they honor God with their lips, but their hearts are far from him. In other words, they look religious on the outside, but they don’t have a personal relationship. 

We should take note and apply this to our scenario today of the sacraments. When we go to Mass do we just say the words or do we worship God? When we ask to get married in the Church are we trying to make our parents happy or do we want God to be a focal point of our relationship? Let’s be sure that our worship is not empty platitudes, but that we desire an intimate relationship with God in all moments. Then the “laws and rules” become less about what we are doing and more about what God is doing in us. From all of us here at Diocesan, God bless!

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Tommy Shultz is a Business Development Representative for Diocesan. In this role he is committed to bringing the best software to dioceses and parishes while helping them evangelize on the digital continent. Tommy has worked in various diocese and parish roles since his graduation from Franciscan University with a Theology degree. He hopes to use his skills in evangelization, marketing, and communications, to serve the Church and bring the Good News to all. His favorite quote comes from St. John Paul II, who said, “A person is an entity of a sort to which the only proper and adequate way to relate is love.”

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Verdant

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There is a lot to unpack in the 4 sentences that make up today’s Gospel. The word verdant has stayed with me throughout my prayer, reflection and study. During my reflection there were times I could even smell rich loamy soil and picture a lush valley, the land full of an abundance of vegetation and animal life.

Gennesaret has been described in this way for centuries and into the mid-twentieth century. When Jesus and the disciples disembarked in Gennesaret, ‘people immediately recognized Him.’

The people of this valley had a rich and deep faith in God and the Torah. They had heard of the miracles that recently happened in the area. In their hearts they knew Jesus was the messiah because of their knowledge and wisdom from reading, hearing, and study of sacred Scriptures. They had faith and believed. The people brought the sick and begged that they might touch the tassel on his cloak. “Those who had touched it were healed.”

There have been times when I have prayed to the Lord for intervention during a terrible storm. I know He heard the prayers being offered and parted the storm on two separate, distinct occasions. I had been on youth trips; one to a retreat in Ohio, the other to do service. In both instances the conditions were perfect for tornados while thunderstorms were exploding all around us. The rain had begun to come in sideways. I could smell ozone in the air while seeing the sky take on a green or deep purple hue.

Our gathering place in each situation was in the direct path of a huge storm. The Saturday evening praise and worship was interrupted and all gathered under the big tent were able to safely evacuate to the residence halls down the hill. Through the night the storm raged. In the morning we saw the winds had tossed a few chairs and some equipment but we were all thankful and rejoicing that God is good, all the time.

The morning after the second storm we listened to the radio while driving to our site across town. The weather anchors in St. Louis were surprised that a storm of such size actually split in half. It brought clear skies with much lower temperatures to the region and the service groups completed their work in seventy degree weather instead of the forecasted low hundreds for which we had planned. 

I know what I experienced. I listened to the words of others who were witnesses. I have faith in the Lord, His works, His Son, the Holy Spirit, Sacred Scripture and the Catholic Church. I believe that miracles happened then and now. What about you?

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Beth Price is part of the customer care team at Diocesan. She is a Secular Franciscan (OFS) and a practicing spiritual director. Beth shares smiles, prayers, laughter, a listening ear and her heart with all of creation. Reach her here bprice@diocesan.com.

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United in the Mass, Today’s Fishers of Men

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In today’s First Reading from Isaiah, we hear something similar to that said in the Mass: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts! All the earth is filled with his glory!”

I am currently participating in a church group reviewing Dr. Edward Sri’s “A Biblical Walk Through the Mass”. I highly encourage everyone to look at this book (also available in a video companion format) to gain a deeper understanding of Christ’s sacrifice for us, which we re-enter during every Mass. 

As we again see in today’s Gospel, we must continually recognize that Christ died for our sins and rose. Through our true faith in this, we can then preach the good news and help others to believe, being “Fishers of Men” as the Apostles were 2000 years ago. 

The Church continues to live today, and the Mass is the epitome of our relationship with the living Christ. We are not condemned by our sins, as Isaiah says, ““See, now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged.” Rather, we are saved by His eternal grace, His Divine Mercy, if only we come to proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior.

Jesus is the epitome of the Word and He evangelizes through the Disciples, sharing His message of love for all people. He asks us to do the same, though this again may be a formidable task for us if we are not truly dedicated to His teachings. Fear and distraction may often offset us from following His instruction. May we pray for His guidance for strength to act as the Apostles did, having inspiration and living in the joy of His peace, which is all glorious and eternal. We can then truly unite ourselves in Christ answering as Isaiah did, “Here I am,” I said; “send me!”.

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Dr. Alexis Dallara-Marsh is a board-certified neurologist who practices in Bergen County, NJ. She is a wife to her best friend, Akeem, and a mother of two little ones on Earth and two others in heaven above.

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Jesus, Our Teacher

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Today’s Responsorial Psalm is taken from Psalm 119 which repeatedly mentions the commands of God, the statutes of God, the Word of God. So often we want to have God in our lives, but we aren’t too fond of his teachings, or at least not all of them. In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus and his apostles are utterly exhausted, unable to even find the time to eat, but when Jesus observes the crowd that has gathered to see him, “…his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.”

Sometimes Jesus healed bodies, but he always wanted to heal souls. One of the primary ways he did this healing work was to teach and to preach. To explain to his friends and to the crowds how the commandments were to be lived out in their everyday lives. Jesus knew that if the people of his time could only understand that God’s laws were designed to help them to thrive, they could find the healing they craved and avoid destructive pitfalls. The same pitfalls we modern day folk create for ourselves by doing things our way instead of God’s way. 

And good, kind Jesus didn’t pull any punches. He set the bar high, exhorting his listeners to forgive enemies, to honor God’s purpose and plan for marriage and sexuality, to serve the poor and the needy. Sometimes they were even asked to leave everything behind and literally follow him. Knowing their weakness, he promised to send them the Holy Spirit so that they could do what he commanded them to do! (Aka without the Holy Spirit, it is impossible!) 

From the time my four sons were very young, I had them learn and recite the first line of the Responsorial Psalm from today’s Mass readings, (RSVRC translation), “How can a young man keep his way pure, by guarding it according to your word.” I wanted my sons to internalize the concept that fidelity to the teachings of Christ brings a purity of heart and mind that empowers them to avoid selfishness, lust, and greed. A freedom that fosters health in mind, body, and spirit. I wanted them to recognize what is good when they see it and to have the desire to be good themselves. 

Jesus Christ, the very Word of God made flesh, is moved with pity for us and wants to teach us how to live out his commandments. When we follow his commandments—when we follow him and do whatever he tells us to do—we live in Him and He in us.

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Christine Hanus is a thwarted idealist who, nevertheless, lives quite happily in Upstate NY. She is a wife and mother of five grown children.

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Kings and Commoners

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Today’s readings offer us something that we in this current age of television, movies and mystery novels are pretty familiar with — the flashback. In the First Reading, Sirach flashes back to the glory of King David hundreds of years before the writer of Sirach picked up his pen. In the Gospel of Mark, King Herod flashes back to his own killing of John the Baptist as he tries to figure out who this Jesus is that he is hearing about. Two kings — David and Herod — two flashbacks, at least two very interesting lessons for us today.

Not that many days ago, our daily readings told us about David’s big sins, the taking of Uriah’s wife and the sending of Uriah to die in battle, and the prophet Nathan confronting him with the truth. Adultery and murder, of course, are Ten Commandment-level bad, yet Sirach hails him as Israel’s greatest, “like the choice fat of the sacred offerings.” Numerous great things are attributed to David, things previously chronicled in the books of Samuel. Perhaps the most important for our purposes is that “With his every deed he offered thanks to God Most High, in words of praise” and “With his whole being he loved his Maker and daily had his praises sung.” Sirach admits David was not perfect, because “The Lord forgave him his sins.” 

Sirach reminds us that kings can be just like the rest of us, sinful and in need of forgiveness. And David reminds us of what we need to do: to love God with our whole being, to thank and praise Him always, to repent of our sins and turn to God’s mercy.

And then there’s Herod. Mark reminds us that kings can be just like the rest of us, refusing to see the wrongs we have done, committed to our own pride instead of the will of God. Herod had John arrested because he didn’t like the truth John told him; he killed John to impress others. And when he heard of Jesus, he couldn’t comprehend that there would be one ever greater, one whom John wasn’t fit to untie His sandal straps. Instead of trying to hear the Lord’s message, he dismissed it as some sort of supernatural hocus-pocus.

Sirach’s flashback shows us that God can forgive our sins and exalt us when we repent and love, serve and praise Him. Mark’s flashback shows us that it is up to us to want God’s forgiveness and love. If we only focus on ourselves and reject our Lord’s most loving gift, we waste that most precious love of our own accord. 

Today’s Responsorial Psalm wraps it all up very nicely. The psalmist tells us “God’s way is unerring” and “He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.” Once again, it comes down to this: God, who doesn’t need us in the slightest, wants a relationship with us. He wants to be our God if we will be his people. And I know God knows it’s hard for us to overcome ourselves, but His love and grace are freely given to all who sincerely call on His name. He is more than willing to transform us commoners into kings after His own heart.

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Mike Karpus is a regular guy. He grew up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, graduated from Michigan State University and works as an editor. He is married to a Catholic school principal, raised two daughters who became Catholic school teachers at points in their careers, and now relishes his two grandchildren, including the 3-year-old who teaches him what the colors of Father’s chasubles mean. He has served on a Catholic School board, a pastoral council and a parish stewardship committee. He currently is a lector at Mass, a Knight of Columbus, Adult Faith Formation Committee member and a board member of the local Habitat for Humanity organization. But mostly he’s a regular guy.

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Memorial of St. Blaise: There’s a Saint for Everyone and Everything

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Today is the Memorial of St. Blaise. St. Blaise was the Bishop of Sebastia in Armenia, which is a city located midway between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. Blaise lived during the early fourth century, and while Christianity was tolerated in Armenia, he and other Christians suffered tremendous persecution.

Under threat of death, Blaise was forced from his episcopal seat into hiding and solitude in the wilderness. When he was eventually discovered praying in his cave, he was hauled off to prison. As the story goes, while Blaise was in prison a mother and her son visited him. The child had a fish bone lodged in his throat, but at Blaise’s command, the child was able to expel the bone and received healing. 

Blaise was eventually challenged by the local Roman governor to renounce Christianity and faith in Jesus. When he refused, he was tortured, hung from a tree, and eventually beheaded. Some of the lore surrounding St. Blaise is that he was tortured and flayed with the pins from a wool comb, which as it sounds, is a special comb used on animal wool as it is prepared for use in fabrics. 

As a Christian devotion, Blaise embodied the verse, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (Jn 15:13). Blaise died for his faith in Jesus and gave witness to those whom he served as bishop. In this way, we honor his sacrifice today. 

As a particular devotion, today we honor and remember Blaise as patron for those suffering from illnesses of the throat and the patron of wool combers. No ailment is too small for a particular intercessor. No profession is too specific for a particular intercessor. 

Our Church has a patron, intercessor or devotional for practically every aspect of life. The abundance of intercessors should remind us that all aspects of our lives should be prayed over and oriented toward sanctification. Think of an aspect of your life that makes you unique: your profession, interests, appearance, or geography. There’s a particular intercessor for you. Take some time today to find out who a specific intercessor may be for your life.

Today especially though, let us also pray for those who are being persecuted for their Christian faith, for those suffering from throat ailments, and for those who still comb sheep. St. Blaise, pray for us!

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Elizabeth Tomlin is the author of Joyful Momentum: Building and Sustaining Vibrant Women’s Groups and contributing author to the Ave Prayer Book for Catholic Mothers. She is General Counsel for the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA. Elizabeth is an Army wife and mother of three and currently lives in the DC area. She blogs at JoyfulMomentum.org or @elizabethannetomlin on social media.

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Healing in His Wings

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“Do not be afraid; just have faith.” Where in your life is Jesus speaking that to you? With this freedom from fear, let’s take a look at today’s readings. The main theme today is feeling a parent’s heartbreak over their child. Regardless of where you personally stand in that scenario, parent or child, these stories are relevant to us all. We have the opportunity to open our hearts and see our lives reflected in these stories. But before we continue, I think it is important to address why we might put ourselves in them. In the book of Revelations, we hear that “the Testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy” (Rev 19:10).  What does that mean for you and me? In short, this testimony of what Jesus did in their lives breathes prophetic truth into our lives, into my life. In fact, that is why our Scriptures are, “alive and active” (Hebrews 4:12) as the Holy Spirit connects our lives to the story of salvation, God stirs faith in our hearts that He can do in my life what He did then. I encourage you to read on with the simple truth that Jesus loved these people, healed these people, and this is their testimony. He did it for them, so He can do it for you and me. 

The First Reading is the end of a tragic story in the later years of David. We know this because of two main reasons: his son is old enough to have started a revolt against him, and his army has asked him not to fight. This part of the story has always brought me to tears. Every time that I read, “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!” I hear the heart cry of my heavenly Father over me for the times I chose fear, sin, and rebellion. 

The Gospel opens with a man begging Jesus to heal his daughter and shortly after, we hear that his daughter is not just sick but dead. This makes healing problematic, it’s one thing to heal disease, but another to bring someone back from the dead. But how does Jesus respond, “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” A woman who had suffered for twelve years with hemorrhages came onto the scene. But she should not have. Her culture, and in fact her religion, forbid her from being near or making contact with healthy people since she was bleeding and that made her unclean, it made her isolated. Yet she had the courage to say, “if I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.” She had that faith even after twelve years of isolation and suffering. She wasn’t just cured and remained hidden from Jesus, she was recognized and known. She was publicly brought back into the community and called ‘daughter’ by God.

But do not worry, Jesus did not say, ‘I used my one miracle for today, that’s all you people get.’ He traveled on to Jairus’s house, the man whose daughter had just died. We get to see a stark contrast between the woman who was named daughter and the family that ridicules Jesus. But He did not give up but rather sent them away. They lost their chance to witness the girl being brought back to life. It makes me wonder, how many times have I been filled with doubt and was not allowed to witness a miracle happen in my life.

I want to leave you with one last thought on these readings: God shows that He knows and walks with us in our pain and He wants to bless us. He wants to reaffirm that we are His children, even when we rebel, even when we are the outcast. May Jesus bless you!

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Featured Image Credit: pelau, https://www.cathopic.com/photo/4472-solo-tocando-manto-sere-sanada

Arthur Richardson is married to his wonderful wife, Gabby Richardson. They will be married for two years this January! Most of his work experience is in ministry. He was a retreat missionary in Wisconsin for two years and a youth minister for three years. He is now the Web Project Manager here at Diocesan, and loves it!