The gospel reading on the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time talks about two healings.

debbie linbrunner • June 23, 2021

From pastor’s desk on the 13 th Sunday in Ordinary Time, year B

 

The gospel reading on the 13 th Sunday in Ordinary Time talks about two healings. Our Blessed Lord Jesus acts here as Divine Healer who heals human bodies and souls. The first healing is of a woman who was “afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years” and no one could cure her. The second healing was that of Jairus’ daughter, the synagogue official. Here too, no other human medic could perform any effective treatment and Jairus’ daughter was at the point of death. Both persons, a woman and a little girl experienced God’s power coming out of Jesus and were completely healed.

The important factor in both miraculous healings was the faith of the people that sought the recovery. In the first case, it was the afflicted woman, whom Lord Jesus addressed personally while praising her faith: “ Daughter, your faith has saved you. ” In the second case, it was the faith of the little girl’s father who looked for Jesus so that the Lord could perform a miracle of bringing his beloved child back to life. This time before even arriving at the scene Jesus first strengthens Jairus’ faith so that this distraught father could not only have his daughter back but he might come to believe in the Savior. Jesus tells him, “ Do not be afraid; just have faith.” From that point on Jairus seems to be full of trust that everything will be well, for God has manifested His presence the Man from Nazareth.

In both healings the two people are restored to health and community. We learn from these stories that there is a wholeness of the human person that is important in the Bible. We can see it in this gospel passage too, for it is not just the body, but also the soul and the entire community that are being treated by Jesus. Our Lord wants people to experience the fullness of life that is possible only with God.

A curious thing in the gospels is that Jesus cured many people, but of them He did not. This does not mean that He did not care for them. Rather, that He had something greater for them. In this context let us remember that healing of the soul is the most important thing for us. A healthy body with a sick soul is good for nothing. Eventually it will lead to auto-destruction anyway; we see that in many cases of people falling into addictions. We must cling to Jesus so that we may not fall back into something worse.

The words of Jesus have consoling power, for they are the words of God Himself. Jesus is God and Man who acts as a Divine “channel” of grace. Whoever comes to His “circle” (the disciples) and has faith, immediately experiences change of body and soul. The apostles after the Resurrection would be able to do the same as we read about in the Acts of the Apostles (5:15): “ Thus they even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and mats so that when Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on one or another of them. ”

A side note here, most people today may not know this, but the hospitals, as we know them, emerged from the Catholic Church. Although the field of medicine was advanced in other parts of the world too, in the lands like Persia, China, or Mezo-America (Mayans and Aztecs), it was in the Catholic-Christian Europe and in the Middle East during the time of the crusades that the hospitals took form of organized institutions. It was usually religious sisters or brothers that cared for the sick day and night. The most famous of them was Saint John of God in Granada, Spain, who had great love especially for mentally ill people. For that reason, in many countries up to this day female nurses are still called “sister.” Even the Communists did not take that down as I recall it from my country of birth, which is Poland

Since treating and healing the human body involves also the treating of the soul, it is a special vocation from God. Thus, it makes perfect sense that a person engaged in this profession is truly a sister or brother who leads others—the sick patients—to the wholeness of the human person. That wholeness is possible only if we include the spiritual dimension, that is, the faith in God. Hence, Saint John Paul II repeatedly affirmed that the church has always been committed to “give the suffering the comfort not only of physical assistance but also of spiritual support, by opening before them the consoling horizons of faith” (Message of the 4th World Day of the Sick, 1996).

            Let us pray that medical doctors, nurses, aides, and medical staff may truly be the bearers of life and hope. And as they face difficult choices that they may never engage in anything contrary to the gospel of life.

 

Have a blessed week. Fr. Janusz Mocarski, pastor

 

Mensaje del pastor para la celebración de la Pascua 2025

By Anthony Aruanna • April 14, 2025
Queridos hermanos y hermanas,

Pastor’s message on Easter 2025

By Anthony Aruanna • April 14, 2025
Dear brothers and sisters,

From Pastor’s Desk on the Eight Sunday in Ordinary Time, year C

By Anthony Aruanna • March 2, 2025
“Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?” — Our Lord Jesus addresses this question to His disciples trying to tell them that they need to be healed of their spiritual blindness first. In this context blindness is not to believe in Christ and healing means to have faith in Jesus who is the Light of the world. In other words, when we gain our spiritual sight through faith, then we will be able to help others on the way to salvation. Without faith in Jesus we just remain living in the darkness of sin. Without Jesus we are all like blind men bouncing against the walls of reality and against each other. However, when we embrace faith in God in the person of Jesus and let our hearts be set on Christ, then He—the Son of God and Our Lord—becomes our guide. Because of that our every step will be illumined with the light of faith. While putting our faith into action in our daily life we also start bearing good fruits of an authentic and happy life.

Del Escritorio del Párroco en el Octavo Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario, Año C

By Anthony Aruanna • March 2, 2025
“ ¿Puede un ciego guiar a otro ciego? ¿No caerán ambos en un pozo? ” - Nuestro Señor Jesús dirige esta pregunta a sus discípulos tratando de decirles que primero necesitan ser curados de su ceguera espiritual. En este contexto, ceguera significa no creer en Cristo y curación significa tener fe en Jesús, que es la Luz del mundo. En otras palabras, cuando ganemos nuestra vista espiritual a través de la fe, entonces seremos capaces de ayudar a otros en el camino de la salvación. Sin fe en Jesús solo permanecemos viviendo en la oscuridad del pecado. Sin Jesús todos somos como ciegos que rebotan contra las paredes de la realidad y contra los demás. Sin embargo, cuando abrazamos la fe en Dios en la persona de Jesús y dejamos que nuestro corazón se fije en Cristo, entonces Él -el Hijo de Dios y Nuestro Señor- se convierte en nuestro guía. Por eso, cada uno de nuestros pasos estará iluminado por la luz de la fe. Al poner nuestra fe en acción en nuestra vida diaria, también empezamos a dar buenos frutos de una vida auténtica y feliz.

Del Escritorio del Párroco en el 5º Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario, Año C

By Anthony Aruanna • February 6, 2025
A menudo la gente nos pregunta a nosotros, los sacerdotes, qué hacer para profundizar en su vida espiritual. A todos se nos ocurren respuestas diferentes y, ciertamente, hay muchos caminos para una mayor vida espiritual. Hay, sin embargo, un método más probado que ha ayudado a muchos cristianos católicos a estar en la vía rápida de la santidad y a comprender mejor la vida espiritual. Es la consagración total al Corazón Inmaculado de María, o como propuso originalmente San Luis Grignon de Montfort allá por el siglo XVII, la Consagración Total a Jesús por María. Después de San Luis hubo muchos otros que siguieron sus pasos. Entre algunos de los santos más conocidos se encuentran el Papa Pío X, San Maximiliano Kolbe y San Juan Pablo II. Estos santos reconocieron que María desempeñó un papel vital en la vida de la Iglesia primitiva y que la Santísima Madre sigue desempeñando un papel importante en la Iglesia de nuestros tiempos.

From Pastor’s Desk on the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, year C

By Anthony Aruanna • February 6, 2025
Often people ask us, priests, what to do in order to deepen their spiritual life. We all can come up with different answers and there are certainly many ways to greater spiritual life. There is, however, a more proven method that has helped many Christian Catholics to be on the fast track to holiness and to better understanding of spiritual life. It is the total consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, or as originally proposed by Saint Luis Grignon de Montfort back in the XVII century, the Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary. After St. Luis there were many others that followed in his footsteps. Among some of the most known saints were Pope Pius X, St. Maximilian Kolbe, and St. John Paul II. These saints recognized that Mary played a vital role in the life of the early Church and that the Blessed Mother still plays an important role in the Church of our times.

Del Escritorio del Párroco en el 2º Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario, Año C

By Anthony Aruanna • January 26, 2025
Estoy seguro de que todos estamos atónitos y horrorizados por los incendios forestales del sur de California que afectan ya a cientos de miles de sus habitantes. La velocidad y la ferocidad del fuego sólo demuestran lo frágiles que somos como seres humanos individuales y como humanidad en general. Muchos californianos pueden estar dudando de su fe en estos momentos; muchos se plantearán preguntas: ¿Dónde está Dios? ¿Por qué permite Dios catástrofes tan terribles? Ciertamente, muchos de nosotros nos haríamos las mismas preguntas. Si Dios está detrás o no, no lo sabemos. Sin embargo, sí sabemos que vivimos en un mundo creado que tiene su propio ritmo y ciclos que se dan en la naturaleza. Las cosas suceden con y sin interrupción humana. Algunas cosas las podemos controlar (muy poco, de hecho), y muchas otras no. Lo que sí podemos reconocer es que las catástrofes naturales son una forma de llamada a la conversión y a una mayor confianza en Dios. También es una llamada a la acción para hacer la tierra más acogedora, de modo que las personas puedan prosperar en ella.

From pastor’s desk on the 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, year C

By Anthony Aruanna • January 26, 2025
I am sure that all of us are stunned and horrified by the wildfires in Southern California impacting now hundreds of thousands of its inhabitants. The speed and ferocity of fire only proves how fragile we are as individual human beings and as humanity by and large. Many Californians may be doubting his or her faith at this moment; many will pose questions: Where is God? Why does God permit such terrible disasters? Certainly, many of us would ask the same questions. Whether God is behind it or not, we do not know. However, we do know that we live in a created world that has its own rhythm and cycles that occur in nature. Things happen with and without human interruption. Some things we can control (very little, in fact), and many things we can’t. What we can recognize is that natural disasters are a form of a call to conversion and to greater trust in God. It is also a call to action to make the earth more hospitable so that people can prosper in it.

From pastor’s desk on 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, year, B

By Anthony Aruanna • October 19, 2024
Last July over 50 thousand Catholics gathered in Indianapolis for the 10th National Eucharistic Congress. Obviously, the central theme of the gathering was the Eucharist. One of the key speakers at the Eucharistic Congress, Monsignor James Shea, said:

Del Escritorio del Párroco el 29 Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario

By Anthony Aruanna • October 19, 2024
El pasado mes de julio, más de 50.000 católicos se reunieron en Indianápolis con ocasión del 10º Congreso Eucarístico Nacional. Obviamente, el tema central del encuentro fue la Eucaristía. Uno de los principales oradores del Congreso Eucarístico, Monseñor James Shea, dijo: