Search

Word of the day

banner parola.jpg
Date09/07/2018

Reading of the day

HOS 2:16, 17C-18, 21-22

Thus says the LORD:
I will allure her;
I will lead her into the desert
and speak to her heart.
She shall respond there as in the days of her youth,
when she came up from the land of Egypt.

On that day, says the LORD,
She shall call me “My husband,”
and never again “My baal.”

I will espouse you to me forever:
I will espouse you in right and in justice,
in love and in mercy;
I will espouse you in fidelity,
and you shall know the LORD.

Gospel of the day

MT 9:18-26

While Jesus was speaking, an official came forward,
knelt down before him, and said,
“My daughter has just died.
But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live.”
Jesus rose and followed him, and so did his disciples.
A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him
and touched the tassel on his cloak.
She said to herself, “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.

When Jesus arrived at the official’s house
and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion,
he said, “Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping.”
And they ridiculed him.
When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by the hand,
and the little girl arose.
And news of this spread throughout all that land.

Words of the Holy Father

What great faith this woman had! She reasons in such a way because she is enlivened by a great deal of faith and a great deal of hope and, with a bit of cleverness, she attains what is in her heart. She was a woman rejected by society. It is important to consider this condition — of being rejected — in order to understand the state of her soul. In one word: she knows, she feels that Jesus can save her.
How often do we feel inwardly rejected because of our sins, we have committed many, we have committed many... And the Lord tells us: “Have Courage! Come! To me you are not an outcast. Have courage, daughter. You are a son, a daughter”. And this is the moment of grace, it is the moment of forgiveness, it is the moment of inclusion in the life of Jesus, in the life of the Church. It is the moment of mercy.
In short, it is not the cloak that the woman touched which gave her salvation, but the word of Jesus, received in faith, able to comfort her, heal her and restore her in a relationship with God and with his people. (General audience, 31 Aug 2016)