Daily Gospel Reflection
Join the Notre Dame family of faith. Receive God’s Word and a unique reflection in your inbox each day.
July 6, 2020
While Jesus was talking, suddenly a leader of the synagogue came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” And Jesus got up and followed him, with his disciples.
Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, for she said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well.” Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well.
When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, he said, “Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. And the report of this spread throughout that district.
Reflection
Today’s gospel gives us a “two for one”: one miracle occurs while Jesus is on his way to perform another. Although separate events, each miracle is a response to small actions taken by the recipients. These “small” actions, however, were fueled by a bold faith and the great courage to interact directly with Christ. The hemorrhage victim yearns to merely touch a tassel from Jesus’ cloak. After many years of suffering without a cure, her great faith assures her this “small” action is enough to save her.
The official goes directly to Jesus and simply asks him to lay a hand on his deceased daughter, boldly knowing this “small” action will be enough to rouse her from the sleep of death. The boldness of this man’s faith is also evident by how it contrasts with the lack of faith in the crowd, who ridicule Jesus when he says the child is sleeping. Sleep is often a biblical metaphor for death; Jesus is not denying her physical death, but assuring her father she will be given new life.
Reading this passage, I am struck by the effort these individuals must have taken to find Jesus that day. What kind of crowds did they need to battle? Once through, what courage must it have taken to approach him? Would I have had enough courage to do the same – even to interrupt Jesus while he was speaking, as the official did? Although millennia have passed since the events in today’s Gospel, we also have an opportunity to follow in the footsteps of Christ’s contemporaries. Through the Eucharist, Jesus remains physically present in our world, too. May we have the great courage to approach Jesus and reach out to Christ in the Eucharist, with bold assurance that such a “small” action is anything but insignificant.
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
St. Maria Goretti captured the imaginations of people when she died defending herself from sexual assault; her influence from heaven worked miracles, even converting her attacker.
She was born in 1890 in a small village in Italy. Her father was a farm laborer, and the family moved to a number of different places to follow work. When he died, Maria’s mother did what she could to take on his workload, but struggled. Every penny, every scrap of food had to be carefully conserved.
When she was 12, Maria was approached in her cottage by a 19-year-old young man who lived nearby named Alexander. When she refused his advances, he pulled her into a bedroom and shut the door. She condemned his actions as sinful, then Alexander began to strangle her. She continued to struggle against him, and he stabbed her 14 times before running away.
She was taken to the hospital, and it was immediately apparent that she would not survive. Her mother waited at her bedside with other family friends as Maria suffered. She forgave Alexander, and asked God’s forgiveness for him as well, before dying the next day.
Alexander was sentenced to 30 years in prison under hard labor. For many years, he grew only more bitter and cruel. One night he had a vision in which he saw Maria gathering white lilies in a garden. She approached him and offered the flowers to him. When he accepted them, each one turned into a white flame.
Alexander sensed her forgiveness, which changed him. He finished his sentence with hope and optimism, and was released three years early. The first thing he did when he was freed was to visit Maria’s mother and beg her forgiveness.
Maria’s story was told throughout the world, and people all over began to pray for her and to ask for her intercession. Miracles were attributed to her help, and her cause for canonization was introduced. Alexander testified with his story as part of her cause.
Her mother, 82, was present at her beatification, along with three of her siblings. The pope named Maria as a modern-day St. Agnes. She was canonized in 1950 in front of the largest crowd ever gathered to witness a canonization.
Maria Goretti is considered a martyr because she died in defense of Christian virtue, and she is patron saint of victims of sexual assault. Her relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica, and her story and image are used by high school students who come to campus for a summer conference with the Notre Dame Vision program.
St. Maria Goretti, patron saint of victims of sexual assault—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Maria Goretti is an illustration by Julie Lonneman, who holds exclusive rights to the further distribution and publication of her art. Used with permission.