Daily Gospel Reflection
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July 4, 2022
While Jesus was speaking, an official came forward,
knelt down before him, and said,
“My daughter has just died.
But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live.”
Jesus rose and followed him, and so did his disciples.
A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him
and touched the tassel on his cloak.
She said to herself, “If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured.”
Jesus turned around and saw her, and said,
“Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you.”
And from that hour the woman was cured.
When Jesus arrived at the official’s house
and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion,
he said, “Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping.”
And they ridiculed him.
When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by the hand,
and the little girl arose.
And news of this spread throughout all that land.
I remember hearing this story during early Sunday morning church services as a child. One particular detail of this miracle always struck me: “A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years.”
As someone physically sensitive to anything to do with blood or bleeding, even at an early age, this woman’s ailment seemed like a horrible experience to me. The discouragement and despair I imagined this woman felt as she struggled for years occupied my thoughts each time I heard her story.
As a more mature reader of the gospel today, another detail comes into focus. This woman encourages herself—and by extension, all of us—to reach out with her words, “If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured.”
Although she had been struggling with this for twelve years, she believed deeply enough in the power of Jesus that she proclaimed simply touching his cloak would heal her. How inspiring! This internal monologue demonstrates an immense amount of faith: faith in a miracle against all odds.
I have found in my walk that it is often easier to trust tangible solutions than an unimaginable miracle. But, this woman exemplifies faith pure enough that even when human ability had failed her, she still believed entirely in the power of God from the bottom of her soul. This faith is ultimately what brings her healing.
In a world where we face despair and pain daily, I find hope in a renewed faith in the omnipotent God who rules over us. May we all find faith in Christ amidst life’s challenges like the woman in this story, trusting that our God will carry us past what humankind can do, even past what our human minds can fathom.
Prayer
God of compassion, we are mindful this day of the blessings you have given to us. May we be grateful for the freedoms we enjoy, and faithful to the responsibilities they demand of us. Help us to be mindful of those who cry out for your justice and mercy. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Pier Giorgio Frassati was an extraordinary Catholic young man who immersed himself in the struggle for human dignity that defined the 20th century. When he died at the age of 24, the streets were flooded with people who mourned his early death, and it was the poor people whom he served who took up the cause of his canonization.
He was born in 1901 in Turin, Italy, to a wealthy and prestigious family who owned a newspaper; his father was named Italian ambassador to Germany. Pier was an average student and an excellent athlete. His passions included mountain climbing and playing practical jokes—his many friends called him "the Terror.”
As a young man, he threw himself into social action on behalf of the Catholic faith: he served the poor, prayed, and built community. Pier gave his efforts to a number of groups who worked for justice and spread Eucharistic piety and Marian devotion. Pier would give away any spending money he had—he would even offer his fare for the train to a poor person and would walk home instead.
He started a newspaper that took seriously the principles in Pope Leo XIII’s famous encyclical about the dignity of human labor and the rights of workers, Rerum Novarum. “Charity is not enough,” he would say. “We need social reform.”
When Church leaders organized a demonstration in Rome against fascism, he helped lead the crowd. Police began to suppress the protest with violence and knocked the lead banner from someone’s hands. Pier grabbed the banner and, holding it higher, used the pole to fend off other attacks. He and other demonstrators were arrested. He could have received special treatment because of his father’s position, but he refused and stayed with his friends in jail.
One night after his release, fascist supporters broke into his family’s house and tried to attack Pier and his father, but Pier repelled them and chased them out into the street with his bare hands.
He died on this date in 1925 after contracting an illness from his efforts serving the poor and sick. When his tomb was moved to the cathedral in Turin in 1981, it was discovered that no decay had corrupted his body.
Pope St. John Paull II beatified Pier Giorgio Frassati in 1990, and called him "the Man of Eight Beatitudes." “By his example he proclaims that a life lived in Christ's Spirit, the Spirit of the Beatitudes, is ‘blessed,’ and that only the person who becomes a man or woman of the Beatitudes can succeed in communicating love and peace to others,” the pope said at his beatification Mass. “He repeats that it is really worth giving up everything to serve the Lord. He testifies that holiness is possible for everyone, and that only the revolution of charity can enkindle the hope of a better future in the hearts of people.”
Pier’s story and image are used by high school students who come to campus for a summer conference with the Notre Dame Vision program; illustration by Julie Lonneman and used with permission. His photograph is used here with permission from Catholic.org.
Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, you were the young man who fought fascism and poverty with your bare hands—pray for us!