***
Gospel: Matthew 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.
The Gospel of the Lord.
***
***
A few days ago, I witnessed the Lord bring someone back from the brink of death, much like the little girl Jesus heals in today’s Gospel.
***
It began when a distraught parishioner told me that her husband was dying. He was in the ICU, and the doctors told her – if he survives – that he’d have limited brain function and minimal mobility.
Essentially, no quality of life.
She asked me to administer the Sacrament of Anointing, and to pray for a miracle.
Entering his hospital room in the ICU, I could see how terrible his condition was. So, I pulled out my oils, followed the rite, and traced an oily cross on his forehead and forearms. His hands were covered in gauze.
The moment my finger slid down his forehead, he opened his eyes and began moving his arms. He was too tired to speak; tubes were lodged into his throat.
But two days later, his wife told me that he turned a major corner; all brain damage disappeared!
“He’ll still need to go to physical therapy, though,” she said.
“We’ll take that!”
The only explanation for his recovery thus far was the anointing. Doctors, of course, leave it as “unexplained.” But what Jesus does in today’s Gospel is also what he did to this man in the ICU.
***
So, does God heal today?
Absolutely. I’ve witnessed it firsthand.
Why God heals some of us and not others remains a mystery.
But so is the truth that God heals us at all.
***
Are you in need of a miracle?
If so, never be afraid to ask. God is here to help us, often showing up in disguise, using the hands of a priest.
***
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Image credits: (1) Proof That God Still Heals, YouTube (2) Edwin Longsden Long, The Raising of Jairus’ Daughter (3) Sacrament assignment!
Hallelujah
🙏
Yes I saw
A
Miracle.
Yes more then one. Once I was riding
My bike to school when the handle bars turned
Strongly I the opposite direction I wanted to go. I found out later that a man who was exposed was where I was
Headed.
I was at a
Healing service when the person next to me had their back healed