Daily Gospel Reflection
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January 31, 2023
When Jesus had crossed again in the boat
to the other side,
a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea.
One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward.
Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying,
“My daughter is at the point of death.
Please, come lay your hands on her
that she may get well and live.”
He went off with him
and a large crowd followed him.
There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years.
She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors
and had spent all that she had.
Yet she was not helped but only grew worse.
She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd
and touched his cloak.
She said, “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.”
Immediately her flow of blood dried up.
She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.
Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him,
turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who has touched my clothes?”
But his disciples said to him,
“You see how the crowd is pressing upon you,
and yet you ask, Who touched me?”
And he looked around to see who had done it.
The woman, realizing what had happened to her,
approached in fear and trembling.
She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth.
He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you.
Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.”
While he was still speaking,
people from the synagogue official’s house arrived and said,
“Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?”
Disregarding the message that was reported,
Jesus said to the synagogue official,
“Do not be afraid; just have faith.”
He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside
except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.
When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official,
he caught sight of a commotion,
people weeping and wailing loudly.
So he went in and said to them,
“Why this commotion and weeping?
The child is not dead but asleep.”
And they ridiculed him.
Then he put them all out.
He took along the child’s father and mother
and those who were with him
and entered the room where the child was.
He took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum,”
which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise!”
The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around.
At that they were utterly astounded.
He gave strict orders that no one should know this
and said that she should be given something to eat.
Reflection
In this Catholic Schools Week, I’m reminded of my years spent teaching and the teachers I support in my current role. The life of a teacher is filled with constant interruptions: questions from students, unexpected turns in the class discussion, and announcements over the intercom.
Jesus, too, was faced with interruptions. Yet, Jesus’ response to the changing events of his day in this gospel struck me.
Jesus gives his full attention to this woman, determined to find who had touched his cloak, even as she interrupts his journey to heal the young girl. By encountering this woman, whose name we never learn, he acknowledges the miracle in front of him and speaks of peace and healing, thus changing her life forever.
How often have I ignored the interruptions before me and focused solely on accomplishing the next item on my list, disregarding a student’s question to continue in my lesson plan, or given a comfortable, brief response instead of engaging in a more challenging conversation?
When I was an undergrad, a friend shared a simple yet powerful prayer: “Make my life interruptible.” No matter how busy I feel, when I pray those four words, God opens my eyes to opportunities to be interrupted—and gives me a chance, and the grace, to embrace them.
Whether in a detour through the open door of a chapel on the way to class, a spontaneous conversation with a friend in need of a listening ear, or a student’s unexpected question that brings the class into a deeper understanding—these moments of interruption draw us deeper into encounters that leave us and others changed.
Jesus gives us a model for embracing life’s interruptions. May we follow his example and recognize the grace-filled miracles all around us as we pray, “God, make my life interruptible.”
Prayer
Christ the healer, you returned Jairus’ daughter to wholeness, as she lay on the brink of death. You healed the hemorrhaging woman when all the doctors had failed. We pray today for the healing that only you can give—the healing of our souls, the very center of our being, which is totally dependent on you. Open us to your healing presence in our lives. Amen.
Saint of the Day
When he was just nine years old, St. John Bosco had a vivid dream that revealed to him the vocation that would shape his life: serving children.
John Bosco was born in 1815 in Northern Italy, and his father died when he was only 2. As a boy, John dreamed that he stood in a crowd of children who were fighting and cussing and he was failing to quiet them. A mysterious lady appeared and told him, “You will have to win these friends of yours not with blows, but with gentleness and kindness. Take your shepherd’s staff and lead them to pasture.” As she spoke, the children turned into wild beasts and then into lambs.
John was disturbed by the dream, as he felt that what it commanded was an impossible task. Still, he could not let the vision go, and as he matured, it led him to minister to the poor and neglected boys who lived in Turin, Italy. He would perform magic tricks and juggling and acrobatics in order to gain their attention, and then he would teach them about the faith and invite them to attend Mass with him.
He soon had a constant crowd of several hundred boys following him around. When other priests or nuns tried to help, they tired or became frustrated. He had little money and many thought him to be out of his mind.
He opened several centers where young people could come to play and pray but was set back by finances and many people’s unwillingness to let a crowd of unruly children run through any property they owned. Don Bosco was undeterred and even began to let some of the children live in his home with his mother.
Money started to come in for his cause, and he opened a church for these children as well as a home and school. He encouraged boys to learn trades to become shoemakers and tailors, and persuaded many who had a vocation to the priesthood. Soon Don Bosco was serving, training, housing, and educating hundreds of boys, all with a gentleness and patience that these lost boys found nowhere else.
He became known as a popular preacher because of his eloquence and there were reports of miracles attributed to his intercession. At the height of an anti-clerical movement—when even the Jesuits had been expelled and several convents suppressed—he founded an order of priests to assist in this work with children. He named it the Salesians, after his favorite saint, St. Francis de Sales, and founded another order of women to work with girls, called the Daughters of Our Lady, Help of Christians. The Salesian family also includes a community of brothers. The work of these orders continues today.
St. John Bosco died on January 31, 1888, and is honored as a patron saint of children and magicians. His story and image are used by high school students who come to campus for a summer conference with the Notre Dame Vision program.
St. John Bosco, who loved neglected and unruly children with patience and gentleness—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. John Bosco is an illustration by Julie Lonneman, who holds exclusive rights to the further distribution and publication of her art. Used with permission.