TAKE COURAGE; YOUR FAITH SHALL SAVE YOU!

⏰Monday of the Fourteenth Week of Ordinary Time 2 (06 July 2020)

📖Hos 2:14bc, 15bc-16, 19-20; Ps 145:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9 (R.v.8a); Matt 9:18-26

Faith is a supernatural gift of God which enables us to believe without doubt all that God has revealed. The Jewish official and the woman that suffered hemorrhage for about 12 years in Matt 9:18-26 manifested this gift. They must have seen Jesus perform so many miracles and were ready to surmount any hindrance to getting Jesus’ help.

Remember that the Jewish authorities did not believe in Jesus due to their religious belief. But this official surmounted that religious obstacle in order to reach Jesus. On the other hand, women are not well regarded socially and otherwise in the Jewish society, but the woman had to surmount the social obstacle in order to reach Jesus. In other words, they were seeing nothing else except Jesus. Our faith needs to be blind to everything that is not Jesus.

The benefit of such faith is embedded in the response of Jesus to the woman, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well” (Matt 9:22). In the Markan (Gospel of Mark) account of the same story, Jesus told the official, “Do not fear, just believe” (Mark 5:36). Jesus is the tension calmer.

He is always ready to calm our tensions and solve our problems but we need to trust him even when there seem to be no hope. He invites us to come and embrace him as the bride embraces the bridegroom so that we may enjoy his love unceasingly (cf. Hos 2:14-20). Are you ready to accept his invitation?

Notice that the child was already dead before the official came to see Jesus (Matt 9:18) and the woman had spent all she had in the hands of doctors without good news to tell (Mark 5:26). But with God, all things are possible (Luke 1:37).

May God, in this new working week grant you breakthroughs in all obstacles on your way and grant you the grace of a strong faith in him. Amen.

Have a beautiful week ahead. Peace be with you.