Jesus turned around and saw her, and said, ?Courage daughter! Your faith has saved you.? ? Matthew 9:22

My sister confided in me that she had recently had a doctor examine and test her case of mayoma. To take away her anxieties, I invited her to a prayer meeting for a prayer for healing.
      Her heart expectantly hoped for a miracle during the pray-over. After she was prayed over by three persons, she felt that nothing had happened. I was led to intercede for her, and when the spiritual elder came, he noticed that she kept on murmuring but not listening to what the Lord was saying. She was led to pray for repentance and accept Jesus Christ
as her personal Savior and Healer. She said Amen and the Holy Spirit embraced her.
      Two days after, she got the test results and they found nothing unfavorable! She was so happy and thanked God profusely. That incident changed her spiritual life totally. She now attends mass daily and now also reads the Bible regularly.We need to humble ourselves and repent so that God can enter our lives. He is full of love and mercy. He is in full control of our lives, if we let Him.Donna E.

REFLECTION:
What aspects in your life need healing? Expect the healing miracle in Jesus by humbly inviting Him into your heart today.

Lord Jesus, heal my brokenness.

Hosea 2:16, 17-18, 21-22

The prophet Hosea introduces a new type of imagery for the relationship that God has with His people. The covenant is expressed in terms of love rather than laws. Couple this with the marriage imagery and we discover a new and very appealing way to examine the covenant that God has made with His people. It sets the scene for some of the teachings of Jesus that give a central place to love and we can see that the Jews did have a basis upon which to understand the teachings of Jesus in this area.

16 So I will allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak to her heart. 17 From there I will give her the vineyards she had, and the valley of Achor as a door of hope. She shall respond there as in the days of her youth, when she came up from the land of Egypt. 18 On that day, says the LORD, She shall call me ?My husband,? and never again ?My baal.? 21 I will espouse you to me forever: I will espouse you in right and in justice, in love and in mercy; 22 I will espouse you in fidelity, and you shall know the LORD.

P S A L M

Psalm 145:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

R: The Lord is gracious and merciful.

2 Every day will I bless you, and I will praise your name forever and ever. 3 Great is the LORD and highly to be praised; his greatness is unsearchable. (R) 4 Generation after generation praises your works and proclaims your might. 5 They speak of the splendor of  your glorious majesty and tell of your wondrous works. (R) 6 They discourse of the power of your terrible deeds and declare your greatness. 7 They publish the fame of your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your justice. (R) 8 The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness. 9 The LORD is good to all and compassionate toward all his works. (R)

G O S P E L

Matthew 9:18-26

These two miracles demonstrate the power and authority that Jesus has over sickness and death. We should never doubt that God could heal us when we are ill. This does not mean that He will always do so. But if we do not ask Him how else will we discover what His will is in any given situation? We may not always understand why God does or does not do things, but we should never allow this to keep us from asking Him for what we need or desire.

18 While he was saying these things to them, 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.? 19 Jesus rose and followed him, and so did his disciples. 20 A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the tassel on his cloak. 21 She said  to herself, ?If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured.? 22 Jesus turned around and saw her, and said, ?Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you.? And from that hour the woman was cured. 23 When Jesus arrived at the official?s house and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion, 24 he said, ?Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping.? And they ridiculed him. 25 When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by the hand, and the little girl arose. 26 And news of this spread throughout all that land.

my reflections
think: The covenant is expressed in terms of love rather than laws.

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God?s special verse/thought for me today________________

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T O D A Y ? S BLESSING LIST

Thank You Lord for: ____________________________________

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READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Sirach 40-43

The story of the healing of the woman with a hemorrhage is truly remarkable in its simplicity and spectacular results. It is important to remember that the Jews would have considered this woman unclean. This means that if she were to touch anyone, they too would be unclean! Yet we do not see any concern in the reaction of Jesus along this line of thought. It seems to me that for Jesus there are far more important principles at stake than some ritual understanding of being ?clean? or ?unclean.?
      This is indeed the case. Jesus is concerned only for the healing of the woman and her level of faith. It is the latter that I find remarkable. She desires only to touch the cloak of Jesus and she believes that will be enough to bring her healing. I can reflect for hours on the depth of her faith and still not exhaust its inspiration. The depth of her faith seems to almost mesmerize Jesus and force Him to heal her. I get the sense that Jesus is truly amazed at the level of her faith, that is, He has seldom if ever encountered faith as deep as this woman?s faith.
      When we compare this woman?s faith with the doubts expressed by Thomas after the resurrection, or the fear that caused the disciples to flee at the crucifixion, or the disciples? inability to cast out some evil spirits from time to time, we are all the more amazed. This woman has not had the benefit of the constant formation that the disciples have received. If she has been sick with this disease for the past 12 years then we can assume that she would have been marginalized by secular and religious society. Where then does her faith have its origins? All we are left with as an answer is the grace of the Holy Spirit.
      It is the Holy Spirit who begins the work of faith in us all, disposing us towards belief in Christ so that we will one day take the step of entrusting our lives to God. It is the Holy Spirit working from within us that enables the grace of God to gift us with faith. This gift will come alive and be empowered if we surrender ourselves to it and let the Holy Spirit do the things necessary to drive away any fear and doubts and open us up fully to the love of God. Fr. Steve T.

REFLECTION QUESTION:
Do I ever doubt in the love or power of God to change my life for the better? Do I dispose my mind and heart towards believing in God or do I tend to be skeptical and unbelieving?

Lord, I believe but help me to overcome the areas of unbelief in my heart. Lord, there are times that I doubt but not because I want to doubt but because I am weak. Help me to overcome my weaknesses through the gifts and graces that the Holy Spirit offers to me.

Seven Martyrs and St. Felicity, their mother, pray for us.