A Miracle within a Miracle
Today the Gospel pericope (a fancy Greek word meaning, “a division or section of text”) includes two miracles of the Lord Jesus; the healing of a child who is dying and the healing of a woman with a hemorrhage.
The Catholic Church has taken the Sacred Scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments, and taken pericopes about similar topics in order to construct the Lectionary. The lectionary is the book of the Sacred Scriptures which we use at Mass. It is designed such that the Old Testament reading, the New Testament epistle, the Gospel and the selected psalm have similar themes.
Sometimes people ask me “Why do you Catholics not read the Bible? You use another book at Mass.” First of all, we Catholics do read our bibles. Every Catholic should have a bible on their bedside table or nearby, and every Catholic should try to read Sacred Scripture every day in their prayer time.
But the Lectionary is designed to make sure that Catholic Christians are “exposed” to the entire bible, and not just our favorite parts. If a Catholic goes to Mass every Sunday, he or she will read or at least “hear” the most essential teachings of Jesus Christ and salvation. If one goes to mass every day, they will hear the entire Bible in three years! The Lectionary is designed to make sure that every Catholic, if they come to Mass faithfully on Sunday, will be very familiar with the most essential truths of Christianity!
The Gospel pericope for today has two miracles where Jesus heals a sick woman and raises to life a dead child. And the first reading reminds us “For God formed man to be imperishable.” God never wanted human beings to suffer with sickness nor to die. That is why he sent Jesus to us. Yet even with Jesus, we suffer, and we die. Yes, but if we have faith, we know that the hourglass for sickness and death is running out fast. It will be a good riddance!
Fr. Brett Brannen
Pastor