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| “St. John Bosco” Artist and Date were not cited |
Reading 1: Hebrews 12:1-4
Brothers and sisters:
Since we are surrounded by so
great a cloud of witnesses,
let us rid ourselves of every
burden and sin that clings to us
and persevere in running the
race that lies before us
while keeping our eyes fixed
on Jesus,
the leader and perfecter of
faith.
For the sake of the joy that
lay before him
Jesus endured the cross,
despising its shame,
and has taken his seat at the
right of the throne of God.
Consider how he endured such
opposition from sinners,
in order that you may not
grow weary and lose heart.
In your struggle against sin
you have not yet resisted to
the point of shedding blood.
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Commentary on Heb
12:1-4
Speaking to the Hebrews, St. Paul
exhorts them to follow the example of witnesses both ancient (from the Old
Testament) and contemporary. He uses Christ as the banner of steadfast faith,
who, seeing the joys of the Kingdom of Heaven, endured the Cross for the sake
of salvation for the people.
The author returns to his
principal theme in this selection. He encourages the faithful to redouble their
zeal for the faith. It is interesting that the author mentions specifically how
the community (cloud of witnesses) strengthens the faith. The reading
goes on to place Christ’s passion as a model of steadfastness, encouraging the
faithful to resist against all opposition. This resistance, says the author,
should include shedding one’s own blood for the faith.
CCC: Heb 12:1-2 165; Heb
12:1 1161, 2683; Heb
12:2 147; Heb
12:3 569, 598
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 22:26b-27, 28 and
30, 31-32
R. (see 27b)
They will praise you, Lord, who long for
you.
I will fulfill my vows before
those who fear him.
The lowly shall eat their
fill;
they who seek the LORD shall
praise him:
"May your hearts be ever
merry!"
R. They will praise you, Lord, who long for you.
All the ends of the earth
shall remember and turn to
the LORD;
All the families of the
nations
shall bow down before him.
To him alone shall bow down
all who sleep in the earth;
Before him shall bend
all who go down into the
dust.
R. They will praise you, Lord, who long for you.
And to him my soul shall
live;
my descendants shall serve
him.
Let the coming generation be
told of the LORD
that they may proclaim to a
people yet to be born
the justice he has shown.
R. They will praise you, Lord, who long for you.
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Commentary on Ps
22:26b-27, 28 and 30, 31-32
Psalm 22 is an individual lament.
The psalmist, in unusually passionate terms, describes the devotion of the
faithful and the trust that God’s rule over all will be just. The final strophe
is a pledge of faithfulness for all generations to come. The psalmist gives the
response to God’s covenant. It supports the idea from Hebrews 12:1-4 that
this act of worship is done in community by the individual. In fact, the song
presumes a communal worship of God. (“Let the coming generation be told of
the Lord that they may proclaim to a people yet to be born the justice he has
shown.”)
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Gospel: 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.
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.
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Commentary on Mk
5:21-43
This selection from Mark’s Gospel
begins with Jesus continuing his journey of healing. The passage relates two
interwoven examples of the power of faith in healing. First the Synagogue
Official’s plea to Jesus to heal his daughter is presented. This is important
from the standpoint that it is recognition of Jesus’ status by the local faith
community. An official from the Synagogue would only consult with one widely
recognized as an authority in spiritual matters.
On the way to the little girl, a
woman with a hemorrhage that had been incurable by local physicians pressed in
close and touched his cloak. She was cured and it was as if her faith reached
out and touched Jesus, unlike the others crowded around, because he felt her
touch among all the others. He turned and was able to specifically identify
her. The Lord’s words to her were; “…your faith has saved you.”
Arriving at the Synagogue
Officials house Jairus’ faith was tested a second time as he was informed his
daughter had died. Jesus ignored these reports and proceeded to reward Jairus’
faith by bringing his daughter back from death; a sign of his mission to all
mankind.
CCC: Mk 5:21-42 994; Mk
5:25-34 548; Mk 5:28 2616; Mk 5:34 1504; Mk 5:36 1504, 2616
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Reflection:
One
of the many rewards of faith in a loving and merciful God is the consolation of
Christ in times of grief. Pope Emeritus
Benedict XVI expressed this much better than I could in his encyclical Spe Salvi:
“Indeed, to accept the “other” who suffers,
means that I take up his suffering in such a way that it becomes mine also.
Because it has now become a shared suffering, though, in which another person
is present, this suffering is penetrated by the light of love. The Latin word
con-solatio, ‘consolation’, expresses this beautifully. It suggests being with
the other in his solitude, so that it ceases to be solitude. “[4]
In
simple language, the grief or sorrow we experience, especially at the loss of a
loved one, a friend, or even a relationship, is indeed the feeling of being
alone, deprived of the person whose loss we have suffered. Into this void comes Jesus, his loving hand
outstretched, bridging the gap between life and death. In him we are never alone. It is his consolation that lifts us out of
hopelessness and gives us grace to overcome even the greatest of obstacles.
As
the Holy Father said, Christ’s consolation is expressed most visibly though his
followers (that would be us). Our
compassion for those who suffer becomes a miracle in itself. It is not easy to accept another’s suffering,
though, is it? Accepting that burden
necessarily means to experience the pain felt by the one who suffers. That pain, we submit, is quantifiable. That is, there is only so much to go around
and the more who share in that suffering, the less burdensome it becomes to the
group within which it is shared. It is
Christ’s (con-solatio) consolation –
we are no longer alone.
Today
as we think about the grief of Jairus, who briefly was stabbed with the pain of
losing a daughter, let us remember those who grieve the loss of those they
love: husbands, wives, sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, brothers and
sisters. May all those who suffer the
loss be blessed with Christ’s steadfast presence, and our offer to share their
suffering so it might be lessened though the consolation and mercy of God.
Pax
[1]
The picture used today is “St. John Bosco” Artist and Date were not cited
[3]
The readings are taken from the New
American Bible with the exception of the Psalm and its response which were
developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication is not authorized by
USCCB and is for private use only.
[4]
Spe
Salvi, II, 38.
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