Today at Holy Mass in the Gospel of St Mark we hear the story about how Jesus cures a woman of internal bleeding…St Mark tells us that the woman suffered for twelve years and spent all her money on doctors and nothing changed, she still was very sick…So in desperation, she reached a hand to Christ…And she was healed…..”She said, "If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured. "Immediately her flow of blood dried up. She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who has touched my clothes?" But his disciples said to him, "You see how the crowd is pressing upon you, and yet you ask, Who touched me?" And he looked around to see who had done it. The woman, realizing what had happened to her, approached in fear and trembling. She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth. He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction”…………This story is very common to this very day…Many people carry around sins that trouble them for years - They try everything to make themselves feel better…Only to continue to be weighed down…..Most times, its not until a person “hits rock bottom” and comes to the end of themself that they turn to God - Just like this woman in St Mark’s story told to us at Mass….And its then that they find mercy and healing……How many Baptized Catholics today live with objective mortal sin on their soul?…How many Baptized Catholics have not been to a Sacramental Confession in many years?…..Sin takes away our joy - Sin blinds us - Sin darkens our intellect!……And the only cure is Jesus Christ and the Sacrament of Reconciliation…..If we look around the world we live in - You will see so many people reeling from the effects of unreconciled sin - They project their pain on others - They distract themselves with all kinds of pursuits - When the only answer is Jesus and a Sacramental Confession….Like the woman we heard about today at Mass - She came to the end of herself - She tried everything to cure her sickness - But it was only until she reached a hand to Christ that she was healed - And so it is for the world today…..So many of the problems we face as individuals and as a society can be resolved with one Sacramental Confession....…..”He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction”…….These same words are said each and every day in Catholic Churches around the world - But before we can experience a similar healing……..There are words we must say…....”Bless me Father for I have sinned” - The conversation begins from that point forward…..There are no substitutes for the one and only cure!
“Christ took away our infirmities and bore our diseases”
The saints tell us to go to a Sacramental Confession once a month…..If every Baptized Catholics did three things - Our world would change literally tomorrow!….Pray the Rosary everyday - Go to Confession once a month - Go to Mass and receive the Blessed Sacrament each week in the state of grace….BOOM! - Like a thunderbolt, the world would change tomorrow - So why is this not happening?…….The word “freedom” gets thrown around a lot by many but do we really know what it means to be free?……Only God can give us freedom - Why is that? - Because the human condition is plagued by sin - Each of us sin - And only God can forgive sins…..This is why Jesus Christ walked the earth and established a Church……And when as a Catholic live in a state of grace - You are free!…..Our world today, the rich and the poor alike wear all kinds of “masks” to cover up who we truly are...…We try to “fit in” to a world that ultimately does not care about us…..This is not freedom, in fact it’s slavery!…..Jesus Christ takes nothing from us - He only gives…But sadly the world does not believe this….This is why Catholics must show people the way forward…..Trust me - When a person who is authentically free encounters you - You remember it!…..Our world today needs Catholic witnesses….The world needs to “see” for itself what it means to be truly free…..This kind of freedom can only be experienced Sacramentally….And no one will believe you if you yourself do not demonstrate this freedom to others by your very presence………..When you tell people that you are a practicing Catholic - People watch you very closely - Trust me when I tell you this - So this is what I say - Let them see! - Show them by your life what it means to be free!
“Have mercy on me, O Lord, for to you I call all the day. Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul”
Today St Mark tells us at Mass a story of a woman who was sick for years…..Ask yourself this - What took her so long to go to God?….In the Gospel we hear this woman was sick for twelve years and spent all her money searching for a cure - Only to find a cure by simply touching the cloak of Jesus Christ………As it was for this woman, so it is to this very day - One Sacramental Confession can “cure” a lifetime of sins that weigh us down!……One simple conversation with a Catholic Priest, a conversation that literally costs us nothing can bring a complete and total change to our life - So the question then must be - Why do we not give this a try?……Why keep “putting off” what must be done?……Why keep searching for “cures” only to find “dead ends”?……..Why double and triple down on bad choices thinking somehow a different result will come about?…….This is what we see all around us today…….Our world “puts off” the only cure to its problems - That cure is Jesus Christ - One Sacramental Confession!….…A fifteen minute conversation with a Catholic Priest can bring about deep and lasting peace - And “spark” a change to your life and usher in a new beginning!…Why not take advantage of this gift?….…Because it is a gift……And then like the sick woman in the Gospel today we too will hear the words we have waited to hear for many years, for some, have waited a lifetime to hear…......”Your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction”………..JMJ
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