“If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured.” Jesus turned around and saw her, and said, “Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you.” And from that hour the woman was cured (Mt 9:21-22).

Just to touch his cloak may seem a small and insignificant act, but by doing so, this woman showed tremendous courage. Suffering from hemorrhaging for twelve years, broke from spending all her resources to be healed, she risked. She could have been severely punished, beaten, or stoned for this small act. Under the Levitical code, her condition deemed her unclean, in the same category as a leper, a pariah. Touching someone else in that condition would then make them unclean. Yet, in that small touch, that great act of courage, “power had gone forth from him” (Mk 5:30), and she was completely healed. Not only did the woman exhibit the courage to touch Jesus, but to admit she had done so when Jesus questioned who had touched him.

In calling the woman who touched him out, Jesus was not condemning her, Jesus was acknowledging her faith and restoring her to the community from which she had been ostracized. Jesus restored her dignity. How many women today still feel and experience the pain of exclusion, not having access to the full and equal benefits of society and the Church? How many people are still considered outcasts and pariahs in our communities?

Pope Francis in his general audience from August 31, 2016, stated: “Once again Jesus, with his merciful behavior, shows the church the path it must take to reach out to every person so that each one can be healed in body and spirit and recover his or her dignity as a child of God”. We too then are to treat each person we encounter, in-person and online, with dignity, love, mercy, and respect.

The courage and persistence of the woman with a hemorrhage from today’s Gospel led her to reach out to touch Jesus even though she was crossing social norms. Jesus affirmed her move. May we also place our trust in Jesus, have the same courage to reach out to Jesus for our needs, when in our weakness, and to seek his guidance. While at the same time, may we be available and willing to allow Jesus to work through us to provide healing and support for those in our realm of influence who are in need.

Painting: James J. Tissot, The Woman with the Issue of Blood (1886-94)

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, July 7, 2024