6Th JULY. MONDAY IN WEEK 14

1.Genesis28:10-22

2.Matthew9:18-26

Memorial of St. Maria Gorreti.

Marria Goretti ( 1890-1902) is an Italian virgin – Martyr, and one of the youngest canonized saints. Her father died when she was nine years, and the family had to share a house with others. When Maria refused to submit to a young neighbour’s sexual advances, he stabbed her multiple times. She was beatified in 1947, and canonized in 1950. Her major shrine is in Nettuno, South of Rome.

REFLECTIONS AND MEDITATIONS

The gospel today has two people approaching Jesus in their need, a synagogue official who comes to Jesus on behalf of his daughter, and a woman with a haemorrhage who comes to Jesus on her own behalf. The way the people approach Jesus is quite different. The synagogue official approaches Jesus in a very public way, humbling himself, bowing low in front of him and speaking loud his need and his request. The woman approaches Jesus very privately, touching the fringe of his cloak, and speaking only to herself. Trying to reflect on the two gestures whereby, the two approached Jesus, we may find out that none of us approaches the Lord in exactly the same way. Our way of relating to the Lord always has a quality that is unique to each one of us, just as we each have a unique way of relating to other people. Both the synagogue official and the woman were people of faith; however they each expressed their faith very differently. We learn a lesson that our faith brings us together as a community of faith, and community of believers. Nevertheless, by doing so it does not take away both our uniqueness and individuality. In the gospel Jesus responded generously to the very different approaches of the synagogue official and of the woman. He made no distinction between them but was equally responsive to their need and their cry for help. The Lord’s response to us is always shaped by and respectful of the unique way that we approach him. It is thus invitation to each one of us to treat our brothers and sisters who always come for help from us according to their needs and in a way we understand them. We should treat our brothers and sisters in a unique manner as Jesus in the gospel attended the needs of mentioned people in a unique manner.

A moment to encounter

In today’s readings more especially from the gospel the woman with the twelve-year – old haemorrhage had undergone” long and painful treatment under various doctors without getting better. In our life, practically we do encounter people of various kinds and races. In encountering people at times we are not happy because they tend sometimes to interrupt our plans. The result of an encounter is either to be happy, to be disappointed, or to run in despair. Yet we have to appreciate that every encounter is providential. In every encounter there is the grace of God. The person who may be perceived as an interruption to each one of us is in fact a person is the person whom the Lord has sent into our lives. Whoever comes into our lives as an encounter let’s welcome him/her see grace in him, and let that encounter be an opportunity for learning and growth from such person.

From the gospel we have heard about one of the synagogue official, pleaded with Jesus to come to his daughter who was desperately sick. Jesus set out with him on this very important journey. On the way to the house of Synagogue official, Jesus had an encounter with a woman, which delayed him. It took up precious time Jesus set to attend and heal Synagogue official’s daughter. Jesus as we told from the gospel did not react or get angry to this interruption. However, the contrary was the case. The woman with the flow of blood simply wanted to touch the clothing of Jesus without holding him up anyway. It was Jesus initiative that the encounter a woman sought was to be materialized, that is the real encounter between two human beings. When Jesus noticed that the power had gone out of him, thus he wanted to know who touched him, Jesus in wanting to know about who touched him, it was a way to meet and make an encounter with a woman in spite of the urgency of the journey on which he had set out. Eventually has we have heard from the gospel scenario, the woman came forward, frightened, and trembling, not knowing what to expect. Jesus addressed her in a sympathetic manner, that ‘my daughter’, he said ‘your faith has restored you to health.’ He engaged her personally; he called her into personal relationship with him. What could be the other people’s views about Jesus’ encounter with that woman? May like some of us, people would have perceived that encounter as unfortunate interruption, some would have thought Synagogue daughter to die because of delay caused by that encounter.  Yet for Jesus that encounter with a woman was of ultimate significance; it was the moment of grace. It was the prelude to an even more wonderful moment of grace in the house of the Synagogue official  when Jesus not only healed the very sick girl as he was asked to do, but instead raised her from the dead.

The gospel today calls and encourages us to pay attention to the interruption in life. What may seem like distractions can be where the Lord is calling us to be. When our plans do not work out as we wanted because of some interruptions/unexpected turn of events, it may not be the disaster that we think it is at the time. Sometimes when our plans do not work out, it is some time another opportunity for something else to happen that we did not plan but, which in itself, can have greater for ourselves and for others. In the gospel we have heard Jesus encountering an interruption. He could have kept on walking when the woman touched his cloth, but he attended to her. That was the call of the present moment for Jesus. There are times in life whereby we need to embrace interruption however how unpleasant they are rather than running to our goals we set before. Because of our weakness, we can find ourselves misjudging where real work lies. We need to acknowledge and appreciate that interruptions are part and parcel of our lives more especially when they involve responding with compassion to the needs of others. When we set our everyday journey, in between what happens as our interruptions can be more important than arriving at our destination.

The miracle stories show Jesus healing either by touch or by a word. The act whereby the woman touched Jesus, by human thinking this automatically would render him unclean. The fact that she touched him does not bother Jesus. The remarkable fact of Jesus being able to break through the taboos of his time could provide a good basis to our today’s situations. In fact what we are undergoing through is not quite different from Jesus’ time. In our own times we have different taboos like witchcraft taboos whereby we have witnessed old people and albinos being killed for the different bad motives, ideological beliefs that tend to separate people in our societies today. In our societies and communities how women are treated and what they are doing  is quite something remarkable.