Daily Gospel Reflection
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July 6, 2026
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.
Excerpts from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, second typical edition © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. Used with permission. All rights reserved. No portion of this text may be reproduced by any means without permission in writing from the copyright owner. The full readings of the day from the Lectionary are available here.
It is easy to imagine that the official who came forward in today’s gospel took some risk asking our savior to raise his daughter from the dead. A second daughter of Christ in this telling hears the words we all long to hear from Jesus: “Your faith has saved you.” Such faith she had in reaching out to touch the mere tassel of Christ’s cloak.
There is a new celebration beginning in Notre Dame, Indiana, this Monday morning as volunteers for the 27th Annual Notre Dame Family Volunteer Camp deploy to various organizations in the greater South Bend area to put their faith into action. As many readers of this reflection will know, the leadership of the alumni association and staff have created this uniquely Notre Dame experience for the families blessed with the opportunity to come to campus for a week of service, reflection, prayer, and camaraderie.
One experience that our family shared at Family Volunteer Camp over the years involved the testimony of a resident at the Center for the Homeless in South Bend. This person’s faith in God literally saved their life at a time when they were in deep despair. While Matthew’s Gospel provides a powerful message, engaging personally and directly with others who have felt the power of God’s love through their faith today, here and now, has its own gravity.
Please join my wife, Cynthia, and me on this, our 27th wedding anniversary, in praying for the families, staff, student leaders, the coordinators at the service locations, and the people served directly and indirectly by the families volunteering this year with the faith in action that is Family Volunteer Camp.
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, and 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 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 a modern-day St. Agnes. She was canonized in 1950 in front of the largest crowd ever gathered to witness a canonization.
St. Maria Goretti is considered a martyr because she died in defense of Christian virtue, and she is the 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.