Jacob was traveling to his father’s house in the first reading for mass today, when he stopped to rest for the night at a shrine. When he went to sleep he used a flat stone for a pillow. That’s hard to imagine today, with our 4 star hotels, hot tubs, swimming pools, the latest movies for entertainment in our rooms, a hot breakfast in the morning and yes, even feather pillows of varying degrees of firmness and comfort to sleep on. We rarely spend the night at a shrine either. No wonder we do not usually have such beautiful dreams of angels, let alone a genuine experience of God speaking to us in our sleep during our own journeys. Our minds are so often on creature comforts and how many of us actually spend very much praying when we spend the night in a hotel?
Our prayers and thoughts of God are often put on the back burner unless we take the time to attend mass when we are traveling or on a vacation. Jacob was a very faith filled man though, or else he would not have chosen a shrine to spend the night at.
The official who came to Jesus was also a very faith filled man because he truly believed Jesus had the power to heal his daughter. Jesus had compassion on this father who obviously loved his daughter so much that he sought Jesus out with the hope that he could bring her back to life. The crowd ridiculed Jesus, because of their unbelief in who he was. Jesus probably walked right through them with the father by his side. This father too, ignored the crowd with Jesus by his side. When we remain in a state of grace and have developed a friendship with Jesus through our prayer life and the sacraments, the Lord travels beside us as well. With Jesus at our side, we can face the worst that life throws at us, no matter what the future may bring, if we trust in him.
It was this kind of faith that healed the woman’s hemorrhage. She suffered with this affliction for over twelve years and surely prayed for many years to be healed and made well again. The faith she had to believe Jesus could heal her if she only touch the hem of his garment! Jesus felt her faith the moment she touched him and told her she was healed because of it.
Maybe today we could think about the power of faith in our lives. Not all our prayers will be answered but Jesus knows the ones that are the most beneficial in the long run for our lives and for those we love as well.
Miracles do still occur. The saints are proof of this, even in modern times. There are also faithful Christians, especially Catholics, who have been given the gift of healing in practical ways, but also supernatural ways as well. We should never give up praying for healing or even a miracle for ourselves or those we love. God, Jesus, Mary and the saints (or even the saints to be) are listening.
