Fr Kevin Kilgore

***

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.

The Gospel of the Lord.

***

***

If you walked into my office this morning, you’d probably notice a large crucifix hanging on the wall, a framed picture of Jesus and the Apostle John, and a few family photos.

But one object that often catches people’s attention is a 12-inch Spiderman figurine, standing proudly on one of my bookshelves.

First-time visitors often ask, “Father, what’s that doing in your office?”

“Spiderman reminds me of Jesus,” I tell them.

Like Jesus, Spiderman went around doing good. As far as I remember, he had a servant’s heart.

But like Spiderman, Jesus had one great limitation: he could only be in one place at a time.

***

In today’s Gospel, for example, Jesus is headed to heal the synagogue official’s daughter. While on the way, a woman who’s been hemorrhaging for the last twelve years touches the tassel of his cloak and, instantly, she’s healed.

Meanwhile, countless others are suffering from leprosy, illness, possession, or have children at home lying sick in bed.

Wouldn’t the world have been a better place if Jesus could’ve been in two places at once?

***

Through us, now he is.

Although we may not raise children from the dead like Jesus did, we can still wipe the tears of those who weep, fill empty stomachs, visit the lonely, forgive those who trespass against us, heal the sick, and inspire others to lead holy lives.

Unlike Spiderman, who was confined to his earthly body, you and I are now the Body of Christ on earth. 

So, how might we continue Jesus’ ministry of hope and healing today?

***

***

Image credits: (1)The Daily Mash (2) Jesus Miracles, Pinterest (3) sevennotesofgrace

***

Can we dream for a moment?

Can we dream of the day when the sun returns and melts all of the snow? Can we imagine the ribbon cutting ceremony we’ll have in the Spring once our playground and basketball court have been installed?

Can we imagine children running around outside without a care in the world while their parents swap stories over a cup of coffee from the SPX café?

It sounds so nice to me.

And thankfully, those days are coming soon.

***

This dream that children have a safe place to pray and play with role models to look up to is nothing new. But it’s a beautiful thing when it happens.

***

Today we celebrate the Feast of Saint John Bosco, who shared a similar dream. 

John wanted children to grow up in a safe and loving environment. He wanted them to dream about their future, to know that God had a plan for them, and to know they had the skills and talent to make anything happen.

What’s particularly inspiring about John’s story is the fact that he served underprivileged youth throughout his ministry, giving those who were abandoned a place to call “home.”

By the end of his ministry, he changed thousands of lives for the better.

***

John was like a tiny mustard seed, planted in the soil of northern Italy. With hard work and grace, he transformed an entire community.

When I think about what God did through him, I begin to wonder, “Now why not us?”

Saint John Bosco, pray for us.

***

***

Image credits: (1) KalingaTV (2) SPX Color Run

***

1 Corinthians 12:31 – 13:13

Brothers and sisters:
Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.
But I shall show you a still more excellent way.

If I speak in human and angelic tongues,
but do not have love,
I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.
And if I have the gift of prophecy,
and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge;
if I have all faith so as to move mountains,
but do not have love, I am nothing.
If I give away everything I own,
and if I hand my body over so that I may boast,
but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind.
It is not jealous, it is not pompous,
It is not inflated, it is not rude,
it does not seek its own interests,
it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,
it does not rejoice over wrongdoing
but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails.
If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing;
if tongues, they will cease;
if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing.
For we know partially and we prophesy partially,
but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
When I was a child, I used to talk as a child,
think as a child, reason as a child;
when I became a man, I put aside childish things.
At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror,
but then face to face.
At present I know partially;
then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.
So faith, hope, love remain, these three;
but the greatest of these is love.

The Word of the Lord.

***

***

I’m a sucker for today’s second reading – Saint Paul’s most famous words on love – as are many couples on their wedding day.

It just sounds so romantic: “If I do not have love, I am nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, it is not pompous. It does not seek its own interests… Love never fails.”

And while that’s true – love never fails – what is love?

***

I often ask engaged couples that question while helping to prepare them for marriage. “You are promising to love one another for the rest of your life, so what is it? How would you define love?”

***

One of the most recent answers I received came from a groom-to-be. I asked him, “How would you define love?”

And after a few seconds of the “deer-in-headlights” look, he said, “What, am I supposed to answer that?”

***

Love can be hard to define. Yet it’s what created the cosmos; it’s the reason why we exist; it’s the one, often elusive, thing that every human heart craves. Scripture even tells us, “God IS love.”

So, what is it?

Perhaps the best definition that I’ve read comes from William Shakespeare’s famous play, Romeo and Juliet. Maybe you’ve heard me use this before, but I believe it’s worth repeating.

In the famous balcony scene, a young Juliet gazes down upon Romeo and says, “Romeo, the more I give to you, the more I seem to have.”

Juliet had everything the world could offer: a palace, servants, and the blue blood of royalty running through her veins. But without love, as Saint Paul would say, she’d be, “a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.”

Juliet learned to live in a world of “we,” not “me,” by discovering the strange, scary truth about love: the more we give ourselves away, the more we seem to have.

***

This idea of giving oneself away is a law written by God into all of creation.

It’s the law of self-donation.

For example, the sun does not shine on itself; it gives its light away to warm and brighten the earth. 

Rivers do not drink their own water. 

Trees do not eat their own fruit. They offer it for the nourishment of others. Meanwhile, their branches stretch towards the heavens to offer others shade from the noonday heat.

Flowers release their fragrance.

Everything and everyone is meant to offer themselves for the good of others – a husband to his wife, a parent to their child, a shepherd to his flock, one friend to another, or a Christian to another in need.

***

Allow me share an example of love in action, that has tugged at my heart.

There’s a woman who’s been suffering from cancer for the last seven years. She’s fought the cancer tooth and nail and is one of the most resilient people I’ve ever met. But her mobility has been compromised to the point that she’s nearly paralyzed.

Recently, she said to me, “Father, the only thing I want is to go to Mass.” 

And for the last two weeks, a friend of hers has managed to carry her from her wheel chair into her car, back into her wheelchair, and finally here into church, positioning her near the altar, and covering her with a blanket.

Carrying a paralyzed friend to Mass. That’s love.

***

In what ways do we also love other people? Or, how do we give ourselves away?

***

It’s the mom making mac and cheese for the hundredth time, the dad attending soccer practice, a smile from the cashier at the grocery store, a grandfather tossing baseballs with his grandson despite his arthritis, a loving note sent in the mail to a friend, a teenager cleaning the house when they’d rather be outside.

Love is anything that inspires us to live in a world of “we,” not “me.” And that love is all around us. 

Together, may we bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, and endure all things.

Because love never fails.

***

***

Image credits: (1) NIV Bible, It Never Fails (2) Brainy Readers (3) Catherine, OnSpritsWings.com