“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 have 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, mercy, and respect.

May we respect the dignity of the women in our realm of influence, have the courage and persistence of this woman, to risk and reach out to Jesus even when it may cost us to do so, as well as recognize that Jesus is present in the marginalized, those on the peripheries among us, those we may consider unclean. In risking to reach out and touch one another, the healing presence of Jesus will go forth from us to one another and our lives will be transformed!

Icon of woman touching the cloak of Jesus

I invite you to read and meditate today on the story in full from each of the synoptic records: Mark 5:21-43, Matthew 9:18-26 and Luke 8:40-56. These are powerful accounts!

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, July 8, 2019:

“At that time the Lord appointed seventy-two others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit” (Lk 10:1). Jesus did not stop with this action, he continued and continues to call people to himself and sends them on mission to proclaim the same words: “The kingdom of God is at hand for you” (Lk 10:9).

To be a disciple of Jesus is to be both about maintaining the Church he instituted and going out on mission. This is why at the end of each Mass the deacon or priest in the absence of a deacon will say, “Go and proclaim the Gospel of the Lord” or three other formulas of being sent to be missionaries in our communities. This is not a call for clergy and religious only but for all of the baptized.

Pope Francis has asked that this October of 2019 we renew our commitment to our missionary awareness. “This missionary mandate touches us personally: I am a mission, always; you are a mission, always; every baptized man and woman is a mission. People in love never stand still: they are drawn out of themselves; they are attracted and attract others in turn; they give themselves to others and build relationships that are life-giving. As far as God’s love is concerned, no one is useless or insignificant. Each of us is a mission to the world, for each of us is the fruit of God’s love.”

There is much here in the Pope’s words to meditate upon and put into action. We are not just to go out and do missionary work, to evangelize and share the Gospel, we are to embody mission. We “are a mission.” At the moment of our conception we exist as a unique individual already distinct from our parents. We are endowed with dignity and worth just by the fact that we exist.

A foundational part of the Good News is to again embrace the wonder and dignity of all life, to allow ourselves to be loved by our Creator again, to embrace the free gift of his love, and to go out on fire with and express the joy and love of being fully alive. We are to give ourselves to others through our willingness to encounter, accompany, and serve one another in love with the purpose of building “relationships that are life-giving.”

When we are touched by the wonder and love of God, when we respect the dignity of life from conception, through all stages of life, until natural death, we come to recognize that “no one is useless or insignificant.” Each and EVERYONE of us are a unique gift to the world that has never been nor will ever be again. Jesus has called us to himself with the purpose to send us out on mission. The time to be, to live, to love is now, for: “The kingdom of God is at hand” (Lk 10:9). Let us go forth this day as missionary people, as contemplatives in action, in peace, to glorify the Lord by our life.

Pope Francis photo accessed from crux now.com and credit: CNS photo/Paul Haring

Pope Francis: Message of His Holiness Francis For World Mission Day 2019:

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, July 7, 2019:

“Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved” (Mt 9:17).

Mark, Matthew and Luke all record the reference of pouring new wine into fresh wineskins. What Matthew adds is, “and both are preserved.” Luke adds: “[And] no one who has been drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’”

The Gospel authors are reflecting the tensions of those who would reject Jesus and those who would follow him and his new way. The new wine is to accept the Gospel, the Good News of the kingdom of God in their midst, and to do so means to change one’s mind and heart. “The tension, and often incompatibility, between the old and the new is part of every religious tradition and attends every change within that tradition. Matthew and Luke wrestled with it and adapted it to their community situation. Contemporary Christians have no less a challenge” (The Gospel of Mark, Donahue, SJ, p. 109). Matthew shared with his community that Jesus is the new Temple, the old has been destroyed. Following him in fact meant that both the old and new covenants would be preserved. Jesus did not come to abolish the of the law and prophets, but he is the natural progression of what went before him.

We are invited to wrestle as well. The Church is called to change, to be transformed by the Living God. Many say the Church needs to change this and that, not realizing that we are the Church, the People of God, the Body of Christ. If the Church is to mature and grow each of us are to embrace transformation, being made anew through the guiding presence of the Holy Spirit. This invitation is a call to let go of those habits, lifestyles, behaviors, mindsets, attachments, and addictions that are weighing us down or worse holding us in bondage and slavery to our sin, keeping us separated from God. Much of the material and finite things we hold onto prevents us from receiving the new life God wants to pour into us.

Jesus has come to set us free from our enslavement to sin by inviting us to try some new wine which consists of contemplating upon and living the message of his teachings and actions as recorded in the Gospels. We do not have to be afraid of the change and transformation Jesus is calling us to experience. As St Irenaeus, the second century bishop of Lyons is attributed to have written: “The Glory of God is Man fully alive!” Jesus is inviting us to live our life and live it to the full!

To become new wineskins then, we are called to identify and let go of those selfish and sinful inclinations that keep us constricted and rigid. When we love as Jesus loves, we are expanded and open to receive the new wine Jesus wants to pour in us.

Each time we come to God in stillness, he will reveal to us that which distracts us from going deeper. You may be thinking the old wine is good, but I have had some of the new. The new wine is much better! As we are more and more conformed to Jesus, who we are remains intact, in fact, the false self begins to fall away as we expand and become more of our authentic and true self.

Photo: With Fr. Bill Burton, ofm, 2013 graduation from St Vincent de Paul Seminary. Fr. Bill helped me to shed my old skin and so to better receive the new wine of the Gospel!

Donahue, John R. S.J., and Daniel J. Harrington, S.J. The Gospel of Mark. Vol. 2 of Sacra Pagina, edited by Daniel J. Harrington, S.J. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2002.

Parallel Scriptural accounts: See Mark 2:22, Matthew 9:16-17 and Luke 5:37-39

Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, July 6, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/070619.cfm

“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners” (Mt 9:12-13).

How could Jesus have called Matthew, named Levi in Mark and Luke, to be part of his inner circle and then how he could eat with sinners? Matthew is a tax collector. Tax collectors were, at the least, believed to be collecting money over and above, skimming off the top, the allotted prescribed taxes. Think of how much IRS agents are thought of in our country. At worst though, they were considered to be in collusion with the occupying power of Rome. Not only were they considered unethical and unclean, tax collectors were in league with the enemy! And Jesus is sitting down and eating with THEM!!!

In quoting Hosea 6:6, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice,” Jesus was drawing reference to the growing Pharisaic influence to aspire to and take on the ritual purity status of the priests sacrificing at the Temple. To be in favor with the religious leadership, to be accepted as part of the religious community, one had to follow certain prescriptions and practices, otherwise be recognized as unclean and while in that state, one did not belong to the community. Sharing table fellowship was a measure of that social construct, so if one was unclean, they were to eat alone.

Jesus would have none of that. Jesus sought to enter into relationship with anyone who was willing, even those who were considered unclean, on the outside, the peripheries. He loved people then and loves us today for who we are and as we are, a beloved child of God. There is no THEM or OTHER for Jesus! He bestowed and bestows his mercy, love, and healing first, as the starting point of any relationship. Jesus calls us to a better and more fulfilling life now, so that it may carry over into eternity. He accepted and accepts people first, builds relationships first, then continues to walk with us, to empower us to be perfect as his heavenly Father is perfect (cf. Mt 5:48).

The bar of perfection is indeed high, higher than that of the Pharisees; the difference is that Jesus’ mercy, his willingness to enter into the chaos of another, is higher. Jesus meets us in our sin, he enters through our door, but he does not want us to stay there, he wants us to exit out of his door. Jesus’ teachings are hard, and when we fall, he does not kick us in the teeth and cast us aside, he lays down, right in the muck and mire with us, and face to face, wipes the dirt and tears from our eyes, offers his hand, and helps us to continue on our journey to see and experience that which is good, true and beautiful in life.

No matter what we are dealing or struggling with today, know that Jesus loves us more than we can ever mess up and he does not define us by our sin and/or worst decisions. I type as, Peter said, to you the reader, “I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, [rise and] walk” (Acts 3:6).

Arise, as did Matthew in today’s Gospel, and walk with Jesus. Step by step with him we will be transformed as a part of God’s new creation. As we do so, may we also be willing to extend God’s healing, love and mercy with those we will meet today and all days.

Painting: The Calling of St Matthew – Caravagio, 1600

Link for the Mass readings for Friday, July 5 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/070519.cfm

Parallel readings: Mt 9:9-13, Mk 2:13-17, Lk 5:27-32

And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Courage, child, your sins are forgiven” (Mt 9:2).

Matthew’s account of this scene is much simpler than Mark and Luke’s, but the point is the same. The person paralyzed received healing because some people were willing to bear his weight and creatively bring him to Jesus. In neither of the three Gospel accounts do we know who the people are that bring this man to Jesus for healing. Were they family, friends, or neighbor? It does not matter. They were aware of someone in need, they believed Jesus could heal, and they put forth the effort to bring this man to Jesus.

Are we like those men in today’s Gospel; are we aware, do we care? St. Mother Teresa often said that people are “not only hungry for bread – but hungry for love, naked not only for clothing – but naked for human dignity and respect, homeless not only for want of home and bricks, – but homeless because of rejection.” Let us resist the temptation to be indifferent to the needs of others, to rationalize why we ought not to care, or worse give in to our fears and prejudices so to dehumanize and reject others in need.

Are we aware, are we willing to care that there are human beings in need. How is God speaking to our conscience, how is he moving our hearts? If we feel called and moved to support the unborn – good, the refugee or immigrant – good, the disabled – good. There are so many who are hurting and suffering. Let us not get trapped into criticizing others for reaching out to help in a different way than we feel called. We just need to be honest about where God is leading us and act as the four in our Gospel reading today did; be aware of someone in need, be willing to meet that need, access our personal gifts of creativity and bring them to Jesus as we are able. By collaborating with Jesus in this way miracles can and still do happen.

Today, let us reject the temptation to turn away from another person in need, and instead respect the human dignity of those we encounter and allow God to happen. We can apply this directly to the horror and inhumanity condoned on our southern border by meditating this Independence Day on the words that Pope Francis shared during Mass on Sunday, January 14, 2018: “Migrants and refugees don’t represent just a problem to be solved, but are brothers and sisters to be welcomed, respected and loved.”

The Lord hears the cry of the poor do we?

Painting: Healing of the Paralytic – James Tissot

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, July 4, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/070419.cfm

See Mark 2:1-12, Matthew 9:1-8 and Luke 5:17-26

Then Jesus said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God” (Jn 20:27-28)!

Thomas’ acclamation “My Lord and my God!” came from his touching the wounds of Jesus. Jesus who had risen from the dead, had conquered death, and yet still bore the wounds of his Passion. This is a profound message to the Apostles, those Jesus sent to proclaim his Gospel, and for us who have been called to follow him today.

The Body of Christ is still wounded by the sin and division of our fallen nature that put him on the Cross. This reality is a reason that many doubt and do not believe today. Many decry, how can a loving God allow such suffering and pain, especially of the innocent? Blaming and scapegoating, or putting blinders on and keeping the messiness of life at arm’s length is not the answer. The path of a disciple, an apostle, is to first say yes to Jesus’ invitation to, “Come and follow me”, and then to allow ourselves to be led by Jesus into our own woundedness, while at the same time, enter into the pain and suffering of others. Immersed in the chaos of life, like Thomas and the other Apostles, we come to touch the wounded side of Jesus, where healing can begin.

Though the temptation is strong to deny, rationalize or flee from the conflict, challenges, hurt, and pain that we and others are experiencing, we must resist. If we don’t, embrace our or other’s trials, we will not come to the root cause of them. We touch the wounded Body of Christ, as Thomas did today, when we are willing to touch one another, to be present and accompany those who bear his wounds, those who are vulnerable: the unborn, widows, orphans, those with chronic illness, the dying, refugees, immigrants, hungry, homeless, and those without access to clean water; those who suffer from addiction, poverty, depression, disease, oppression, prejudice, discrimination, dehumanization, racism, sexism, misogyny, unjust immigration policies, incarceration, those on death row, unemployment, underemployment, wage theft, human trafficking, domestic violence, slavery, violence, war, terrorism, and natural disasters. For what we do to the least among us, we do it to Jesus.

We can easily be overwhelmed with the suffering of the world or our own challenges, but denial or indifference is not the answer. Nor is it healthy to run to others who are in need so we don’t have to face our own issues. There is an act of balance that Jesus calls us to participate in as we learn to love God, love others and love our neighbors as ourselves. The answer is found when we are willing to encounter Jesus and follow his lead.

We do not know where Thomas was when the Apostles first encountered Jesus after the Resurrection, but we do know he was not with Jesus. Apart from Jesus we can do nothing, yet with Jesus, the one who conquered death, all things are possible! When we feel overwhelmed, helpless, or indecisive, may we acclaim with Thomas, “My Lord and my God!”

Jesus is present with us, so we can be confident and on our way today to make our corner of the world a better place by reaching out person to person, to share a smile, a touch, provide a listening ear, and/or speak up or out, write a letter or make a phone call to our congressional representatives on behalf of the dignity of those who do not have access or a voice.

Painting: The Indredulity of St Thomas by Caravaggio, 1601-1602

Link for the readings of the Mass for Wednesday, July 3, 2018: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/070319.cfm

As Jesus got into a boat, his disciples followed him. Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by waves; but he was asleep (Mt 8:23-24).

Noah’s ark, as well as the boat in today’s Gospel pericope, has often been a symbol for the Church. The storms may rage without, but those who remain in the boat will be secure. The image of Jesus sleeping can also be a sign for the storms within the boat, within the Church – where it may appear that Jesus is absent.

We are human beings, made in the image and likeness of God, we are good, but we are also fallible and wounded by our sin. We are wounded by the very gift of the free will we have been given. God loves us so much he is willing to risk that we will choose to place other people, places and things before him. We will pursue the promises of wealth, fame, honor and pleasure as substitutes for our true and abiding happiness which can only come from God. God does not cause our suffering, but he will allow us to reap the consequences of our choices.

The hope is that we will learn from our mistakes and grow to realize that we need to remember that God is to be first in all we think, say and do. Even in our darkest moments, even in the darkest moments of the Church, we need to remember that God has not abandoned us. When we are experiencing the storms in our lives that come from without caused by others or the storms from within caused by our own sin or lack of faith, Jesus may appear to be distant, he may seem to not even exist.  Yet, just as Jesus was calmly, sleeping in the boat with the disciples, he was present with them and he is present with us. Once the disciples turned to Jesus and implored his help, Jesus calmed the stormy sea.

Our focus on Jesus through the good times and the bad is the key when life gets bumpy. Our faith in Jesus grows as our trust and relationship in him grows. We just need to remember to turn to him in all our circumstances in life and when we are in need, we will know he is there. Whether that be our own mental storms of anxiety, whether we are dealing with conflict in a relationship, whether we are dealing with some crisis physically, economically, or spiritually, or out beyond ourselves to the Church as a whole such as the present abuse crisis, the inhumanity inflicted upon our brothers and sisters on the border, or the violence inflicted upon the Church throughout the world.

We need not even fear death, because Jesus has conquered death. Jesus chided his disciples, who feared the worst, as they were tossed about in the boat on the raging sea, for having little faith. He knew they could have stilled the wind as he had done or that God would have helped them to ride the storm out, if they had just placed their focus on God instead of their fear.

In all these areas and more, when Jesus may appear to be asleep, or absent, trust and know that he is present. We also have the power to calm the storms in our life or feel his peace, a peace that surpasses all understanding, as we ride out those storms when we come to know him and call on his name. We just need to have faith in Jesus and believe.

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Photo by Johannes Plenio from Pexels

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, July 2, 2018: 

In today’s Gospel a scribe approaches Jesus. Often, when a scribe is mentioned in the Gospels, one can expect a conflict. This time though, it appears that this scribe has not come to challenge Jesus, but has a sincere interest in following him, of becoming one of his disciples because he said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go” (Mt 8:19). Just as Jesus responded to the rich man who sought what he must do to enter the kingdom of God, so Jesus challenged the scribe, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head” (Mt 8:20).

The life of the scribe was generally very sedentary and stable. They, more than likely, would have sought urban areas where they could have access to more opportunities to practice their writing craft such as the recording of the collection of taxes, the recording of royal decisions and decrees, secretarial roles in government, as well as be legal scholars of the Torah. Some scribes could rise to high levels influencing kings or sitting on the Sanhedrin, the Jewish high council in Jerusalem. The life of Jesus was that of an itinerant preacher. For the remainder of his ministry he would not be staying in one place for long. If the scribe truly wanted to follow Jesus he would need to give up his present lifestyle and be willing to go on the road with Jesus.

There is no response from the scribe to Jesus’ invitation. This is well and good because it gives us the opportunity to answer the question for ourselves. How would we respond? Where do we place our security? Do we place our security in our job, in our home, our family, our trade, vocation, or career choice? Those pursuing college degrees, are you being led by Jesus or the pursuit of power, pleasure, wealth, and/or honor?

When we truly place our hope and security in Jesus instead of that which is finite and limited, we will be less attached to the things of this world, we can live more simply and be freer to reach out beyond ourselves to give and provide aid, comfort, and support to those who are in need. Our lives will be more balanced and fulfilling when we let go of our white knuckled grip of those material realities that we cling to for security and safety.

As was true with the disciples, our minds, hearts, and spirits need to first be open to the invitation of Jesus to follow him. Then as we follow his guidance and where he leads us, we need to recognize that our transformation takes time. May we persevere in prayer, draw strength from the love of the Holy Spirit and each other as trials, experimentation, experiences, sufferings, conflicts, joy, and successes arise. Jesus has a unique vocational call for each of us. To close today, may we pray the hymn written by the Benedictine Nuns of Stanbrook Abbey:

O God of truth, prepare our minds
to hear and heed your holy word.
Fill every heart that longs for you
with your mysterious presence, Lord.
Almighty Father, with your Son
and blessed Spirit, hear our prayer.
Teach us to love eternal truth
and seek its freedom everywhere.

Photo: My mother and me after Mass at St Philip, the parish where I received my First Communion. Picture taken during my last visit to CT last year. Mass is a good place to hear Jesus’ guidance!

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, July 1, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/070119.cfm

“Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they journeyed to another village (Lk 9:54-56).

Jesus and those traveling with him to Jerusalem were not welcomed by those they came upon in Samaria. James and John made this statement as a reaction to the rejection of the Samaritans. Many of us act in similar ways when we have been rejected, offended, or not shown hospitality. When the offense comes from someone outside of our group, we feel even more justified.

“Jesus turned and rebuked” James and John for their violent reaction. To follow Jesus meant and means for us that we are to set our ego aside, we are to set our knee-jerk reactions aside, and we are to set our seeking of revenge and vengeance aside. The way of Jesus is the way of love and non-violence. This makes no sense if we define love merely as an emotion or some warm and fuzzy feeling. Jesus commands that we are to love our neighbor and to love our enemies.

To do so, means that we are to will each other’s good. At the first moment of conflict with another we need to resist entering into a defensive posture, we are to resist caving in or withdrawing in upon ourselves, but instead we are to assume an openness, and embrace a posture of understanding.

There are so many people that are hurting, that are dealing with wounds, issues and are weighed down by years of emotional baggage, that not only we are not aware of, but they themselves may not be aware of. We do not know what another is going through or how they are suffering. When the offensive word. action, or lack of reaching out to us comes, and they will come, the easy response is to react negatively in kind, but if we do so, Jesus will rebuke us as he rebuked James and John in today’s Gospel account.

Jesus commands that we are to love one another as he loves us. We are to see in our everyday encounters, people with dignity and worth, even though, like us, they may be wounded and afraid. We are not to see someone as other, but a brother or sister. If we are not able to do so, then we can call on Jesus to love the person through us. We do not have to give in to our fears, our prejudices, or act from our own woundedness. We can be a little kinder to ourselves and each other today, if we are willing to love as Jesus loves in and through us.

Painting: El Greco – The Savior of the World

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, June 30, 2019: 

Jesus said to his Apostles, “But who do you say that I am” (Mt 16:15)

Have we answered the same question he posed to his apostles for ourselves? Too often we move from this to that, one situation to another, putting out fires and moving from one crisis to another, or we are just seeking to make it through another day.

To be a Christian is not a call to stop living our lives, but it is an invitation to live our lives in, with, and for Jesus. We have been described as a People of the Book, along with Jews and Muslims. This is true, yet, in addition, we are also a people of encounter; we encounter the Living Word, the Son of God, Jesus the Christ.

Peter and Paul encountered Jesus in their lives and were changed forever. We can encounter the same Jesus when we slow down enough to pray with the word proclaimed in Liturgy or read in personal prayer.

As a very simple example: except for the first Office of the day, in praying the Liturgy of the Hours, the prayer begins, “God come to my assistance, Lord make haste to help me.” I have said those words mindlessly too many times as I began my prayers, and didn’t really take in what I was saying!!! How many times do we make the Sign of the Cross without being attentive to the profound act we have just engaged ourselves in?

Through invoking this prayer and making this sacramental gesture, we are inviting the Creator of all that exists to come to be a part of our lives. Each are also prayers we may lean on when tempted, stressed, worried or anxious. Each are affirmations of a commitment to resist giving in to a mindset of minimalism and fear. All things are possible when we mindfully choose to align ourselves with Jesus and participate in the communion of the Holy Trinity.

Peter and Paul both answered the question that Jesus posed. Peter as recorded in Mt 16:16, said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” and Paul in Acts 9:20 “proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.” Let us spend some time praying and meditating on how we will answer Jesus’ question: “Who do you say that I am?” How we answer this question makes a difference as to the kind of Christian we are and will be.

Saints Peter and Paul, pray for us!

Painting of Saints Peter and Paul by El Greco, 16th Century

Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, June 29, 2018: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/062919-day.cfm