In today's Gospel reading at Mass from Mark 5, a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years went up behind Jesus in a crowd, saying to herself, "If I but touch his clothes, I shall be healed." She touched his cloak and immediately her flow of blood dried up. Jesus, aware that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and asked who touched his clothes. The woman came up in fear and trembling, fell down before Jesus and told him the truth. He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction."
This passage makes me think about faith again. What is considered great faith? Obviously, faith can work wonders. What I've noticed is that the woman who suffered hemorrhages was in a rather desperate situation and had no hesitation in believing that Jesus could heal her. These two requirements need be present to demonstrate our faith. If I suffer a cold, I know God can heal me, but there's no urgency here. Ask the Lord to cure me of my cold miraculously would be to force myself to be "unreasonable," you could say. I had blogged in the past how my son was miraculously saved from death when I prayed for his recovery without hesitation ~ the situation was desperate and my request just came out spontaneously. I think we all have faith, but we don't know how strong it is until we are being tested. One thing is certain: if you seek union with God, the Lord will automatically (my favorite adverb) make your faith strong.
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