Praise the Lord!
Here is my homily for this coming Sunday, the thirteenth Sunday
of the Year.
" She said, «If I touch even his garments, I shall be made well.»
And immediately the hemorrhage ceased; and she felt in her body
that she was healed of her disease. "
May God bless you!
Canon Dr. Daniel Meynen

http://meynen.homily-service.net/




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Homily for the thirteenth Sunday of the Year - Year B - Mk. 5:21-43




" When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great
crowd gathered about him; and he was beside the sea. Then came one of
the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and seeing him, he fell
at his feet, and besought him, saying, «My little daughter is at the
point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be
made well, and live.» And he went with him. And a great crowd
followed him and thronged about him.

" And there was a woman who had had a flow of blood for twelve years,
and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that
she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard the
reports about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched
his garment. For she said, «If I touch even his garments, I shall be
made well.» And immediately the hemorrhage ceased; and she felt in her
body that she was healed of her disease. And Jesus, perceiving in
himself that power had gone forth from him, immediately turned about in
the crowd, and said, «Who touched my garments?» And his disciples said
to him, «You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, "Who
touched me?"» And he looked around to see who had done it. But the
woman, knowing what had been done to her, came in fear and trembling
and fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. And he said to
her, «Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be
healed of your disease.»

" While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler's house some
who said, «Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any
further?» But ignoring what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the
synagogue, «Do not fear, only believe.» And he allowed no one to
follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. When
they came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, he saw a tumult,
and people weeping and wailing loudly. And when he had entered, he
said to them, «Why do you make a tumult and weep? The child is not
dead but sleeping.» And they laughed at him. But he put them all
outside, and took the child's father and mother and those who were with
him, and went in where the child was. Taking her by the hand he said
to her, «Talitha cumi»; which means, «Little girl, I say to you,
arise.» And immediately the girl got up and walked (she was twelve
years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement. And
he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to
give her something to eat. "



Homily:


" When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great
crowd gathered about him; and he was beside the sea. Then came one of
the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and seeing him, he fell
at his feet, and besought him, saying, «My little daughter is at the
point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be
made well, and live.» And he went with him. And a great crowd followed
him and thronged about him. "

After having celebrated the feasts of Pentecost, of the Holy Trinity,
and of Corpus Christi, the Church now resumes, each Sunday, the reading
of the Gospel of Saint Mark. Jesus and his disciples are in Galilee,
on the edge of the lake. Many are the people who come to the Savior,
for they have heard that he performs miracles and healings without
number! Among them are one of the rulers of the synagogue: Jairus.
Prostrate at the feet of Jesus, he begs him to come and heal his
daughter at his home. And Jesus, full of love for all, goes with his
disciples.

" And there was a woman who had had a flow of blood for twelve years,
and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that
she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard the
reports about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched
his garment. For she said, «If I touch even his garments, I shall be
made well.» And immediately the hemorrhage ceased; and she felt in her
body that she was healed of her disease. "

In the crowd, a woman follows Jesus closely, even very closely, for she
wants to touch his garment at all costs! Unlike Jairus, who wanted
Jesus to go to his sick daughter in order to touch her and heal her,
this woman, suffering from a flow of blood for twelve years, wants to
go up to Jesus in order to touch him herself: "If I touch even his
garments, I shall be made well." Oddly, this woman has received from
God a special grace which seems to authorize her to decide, herself,
the moment when she would be healed. For, in this case, Jesus makes no
decision to act, apart from the fact of having given this woman the
grace, which came from his heavenly Father, to approach him and to
receive from his omnipotence the cure for her disease. This woman, who
approaches the Savior in order to touch him, is truly a favored
daughter of the Father, who freely gave her this power: "No one can
come to me unless it is granted him by the Father." (Jn. 6:65)

" And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone forth from him,
immediately turned about in the crowd, and said, «Who touched my
garments?» And his disciples said to him, «You see the crowd pressing
around you, and yet you say, "Who touched me?"» And he looked around
to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had been done to
her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him, and told him
the whole truth. And he said to her, «Daughter, your faith has made
you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.» "

Having touched the garment of Jesus, the woman was cured at once: "And
immediately the hemorrhage ceased; and she felt in her body that she
was healed of her disease." But Jesus, though surrounded by many
people, strongly sensed, to the depths of his soul, that someone had
touched him in a very special way: he felt that he had been touched on
his body, from which his clothing took its form, but also, and
especially, on his soul, where the Spirit of God lives, the almighty
Spirit, He who truly is "the power of the Most High" (Lk. 1:35).
Touched by his clothing, Jesus is touched on his soul, for the woman
who wanted to be healed firmly believed that Jesus could grant her this
special favor. Through bodily contact, it was the soul of Jesus and
that of the woman which touched, in order that He who is holy and pure
par excellence might give salvation of the soul and body to she who had
faithfully followed the grace coming from the Father. "Daughter, your
faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease."

" While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler's house some
who said, «Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any
further?» But ignoring what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the
synagogue, «Do not fear, only believe.» And he allowed no one to
follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. "

The episode of the woman who suffered from the hemorrhage visibly marked
the life of Jesus: his soul was touched. The events which take place
right after the healing of this woman prove this: Jesus will no longer
merely heal a girl, but rather he will raise her from the dead! Who
knows whether Jesus would have arrived in time if there had not been so
many people on the road, and above all if there had not been the woman
who had touched him? Without any doubt, the grace which the heavenly
Father had granted to this woman in order for her to go to Jesus and be
healed mark an important stage in the life of the Savior. Moreover, if
Jesus did not take everyone with him, but rather only Peter, James, and
John, he did so to signify that the event which was about to take place
was among the most important of his public life.

" When they came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, he saw a
tumult, and people weeping and wailing loudly. And when he had
entered, he said to them, «Why do you make a tumult and weep? The
child is not dead but sleeping.» And they laughed at him. "

Having arrived at the house of the ruler of the synagogue, Jesus tried
to put an end to the lamentations, the tears, and the wailing which
testified to the death of the girl. Jesus prophesies; he says: "The
child is not dead but sleeping." But, like all the prophets who had
announced his reign and his coming, Jesus receives as a response only
the mockery and jeers of those who were there lamenting and weeping...
Jesus can announce here and there that eternal life will be the reward
for a life that is holy and pure before God and men: it is a message
that one still accepts rather easily, for, in any case, since it
concerns life after death, there is plenty of time before we will see
it... But this case is completely different! For if this girl sleeps,
it means she will wake up; however, when a dead person awakens, is
this not already an anticipation of the final Resurrection, a
manifestation, in our time, of eternal Life? So, when one does not
want to believe in it, there is only one thing to do: mock it...

" But he put them all outside, and took the child's father and mother
and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. Taking
her by the hand he said to her, «Talitha cumi»; which means, «Little
girl, I say to you, arise.» And immediately the girl got up and walked
(she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with
amazement. And he strictly charged them that no one should know this,
and told them to give her something to eat. "

They mock Jesus, but he continues on his way, he carries out his
mission, that which the Father entrusted to him: to reveal to the
whole world that he, himself, is eternal Life. Later, when he will
raise his friend Lazarus from the dead, Jesus will declare to
Martha: "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me,
though he die, yet shall he live." (Jn. 11:25) And Martha will believe
him. Here, too, the father of the dead young girl believes that Jesus
is almighty and that he can resurrect she who "sleeps". Jesus gave him
the grace to believe, when he said to him: "Do not fear, only
believe." This faith is without doubt not very great, but it was
manifested in a way that does not mislead: through the simple fact of
going to the Savior to invite him to come and visit a sick, and now
dead, girl... This sincere and true faith is one which Jesus intends
to reward: he takes the hand of the girl, and commands her to rise.
The girl rises: she lives, she has returned to life!

Jesus went through a significant and important stage of his human life.
He once again resumes his travels with his disciples. Let us follow
him, step by step. Let us not be afraid! He will lead us on the road
to eternity! He is always with us, notably in the Sacrament of his
Body and his Blood. Let us go to him with all the ardor of our faith!
Let us ask Mary to accompany us and to help us to ceaselessly draw from
the source of life and strength, in the Love and the merciful Heart of
her Divine Son!



Canon Dr. Daniel Meynen



http://meynen.homily-service.net/