Deacon Prodencio Bognay reads and reflects on the Gospel of Matthew (9: 18-26) in which Jesus heals the woman who touches his cloak and brings the official’s daughter back to life.

Deacon Prodencio says, we could say Jesus was phenomenal. He was able to heal the sick and was even able to resuscitate the dead, like Lazarus and the official’s daughter.

If we look at the healing ministries of Jesus as narrated in the Gospels, we find that he always recognised and affirmed the faith of those who sought healing.  In our Gospel story today, Jesus recognised the faith of the woman who believed she could be healed just by touching the fringe of his cloak. He also recognised the faith of the official who believed Jesus could make his daughter live again. Behind these miraculous events was the element of faith displayed either by the sick themselves or by their loved ones.

For our reflection today, Deacon Prodencio says, we might ponder on the kind of faith that heals. What sort of faith do we need to in order for us to be healed? What kind of faith do we need to exercise in order for us to be healed?

He says, we do not have with us phenomenal people, like Jesus, who could heal us just by recognising the depth of our faith.  We might, however, be able to develop a spirituality or faith practice that could bring us inner peace even amidst our sickness. We might be able to develop a faith practice that might make us feel serene and content even amidst our challenging situations. We might be able to develop a faith practice that could make us find meaning in this world even amidst uncertainties.

Let us pray then to God our loving father that we may find those things that in one way or another lead us to our recovery.