Healing and Restoring touch of Jesus

June 28^th , ’15   13^th Sunday -Fr.Francis Chirackal CMI

Wisdom 1:13-15, 2:23-24; 2Cor 8:7, 9, 13-15; Mk 5:21- 43

For readings

http://www.usccb.org/nab/070515.shtml

A few years ago, I saw a miraculous healing touch of Jesus next to me, while attending a retreat. It was a group of around 200 priests and seminarians. There was a seminarian, who had met with an accident a few years ago, and was suffering from difficulties on his leg, as it was broken in to three pieces in that accident. Through surgeries and treatment, doctors succeeded in fixing his broken leg. But he was unable to bend his knee properly or kneel down. For years he was praying for a total healing and the ability to kneel.  On the first day of that retreat, while praying the Stations of the Cross, he felt a craving to kneel and tried to kneel with an earnest prayer. Along with others, he too knelt down without any difficulties. He participated in rest of the stations, kneeling normally without any difficulties and found his knees fully healed. On the last day of the retreat, he too came forward along with others, and gave testimony for receiving a miraculous healing. This is not a single incident. People are experiencing thousands of miracles with the healing touch of Jesus every day, even at this moment at many places.

The first reading suggests that the acts of loving-kindness will help us to share the eternal life God has prepared for us.  In the second reading, St. Paul asks us to show the kindness and compassion towards our brethren by helping them.  Gospel passage is a beautiful presentation of two miracles, a healing, and a revival and restoration of life. Jesus worked these miracles as a reward for the trusting faith of a synagogue ruler and of a woman with a hemorrhage.  They also give us further proof of the divine power and the infinite mercy of our Savior, which is still active now. 

Today’s gospel stories teach us that, we can come to God for healing. And, as we do so, we recognize our poverty of spirit, and we come with expectancy, because we know God will hear us. Also we learn something more of the compassion of Christ that, he knows our needs, and he is interested in every detail of our lives, no matter how big, no matter how small. Our humility will always be met by Christ’s compassion.

We need to accept God’s call to health, wholeness and holiness.  All of us, in one way or another, are constantly in need of God's healing touch.  Hence, we need not wait until we have the correct motive and strong faith to bring our problems before Jesus.  Let us bring before him our bodily and spiritual wounds and ask for his touch.  We should pray for healing, which will give us health in every aspect of our lives, not just in our bodies, so that we may function in perfect harmony with people around us and with the environment. If we have lost our active Christian life due to our un-proportionate pre-occupations with day-to-day matters or worldly pleasures, let us approach Jesus to revive and restore our faith-filled active Christian life.

 The primary condition for the effectiveness of our prayer is our faith in the goodness and mercy of God. Such a faith is possible, only if we remain related to God through prayer, the sacraments, and a meditative reading of the Bible. Let us always be related to God. Jesus is standing out-stretched His hands. Let us feel the touch of Jesus in our daily life. There is peace, there is joy. God Bless you.