And Many That Touched Him were Healed
Introduction
Today is also the Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes. On February 11, 1858, our Lady appeared at Lourdes to a simple girl, Bernadette Soubirous. Since then millions of pilgrims have flocked to this town and have experienced there a renewal of their faith and for some of their health. Pilgrimages are a sacred tradition for God’s pilgrim people; very many of these pilgrim journeys are to Marian sanctuaries, where many seek the restoration of their health and their faith. The greatest miracle of Lourdes lies perhaps not so much in its spectacular cures but in the atmosphere of the trusting prayer of the pilgrims and in the unity of faith of the poor and the rich, the healthy and the sick.
1 Reading: Genesis 1:1-19
In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss, while a mighty wind swept over the waters.
Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
God saw how good the light was. God then separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” Thus evening came, and morning followed–the first day.
Then God said, “Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters, to separate one body of water from the other.”
And so it happened: God made the dome, and it separated the water above the dome from the water below it. God called the dome “the sky.” Evening came, and morning followed–the second day.
Then God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered into a single basin, so that the dry land may appear.”
And so it happened: the water under the sky was gathered into its basin, and the dry land appeared. God called the dry land “the earth,” and the basin of the water he called “the sea.” God saw how good it was. Then God said,
“Let the earth bring forth vegetation: every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it.” And so it happened: the earth brought forth every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it. God saw how good it was. Evening came, and morning followed–the third day.
Then God said: “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky,
to separate day from night. Let them mark the fixed times, the days and the years,
and serve as luminaries in the dome of the sky, to shed light upon the earth.” And so it happened: God made the two great lights, the greater one to govern the day, and the lesser one to govern the night; and he made the stars. God set them in the dome of the sky, to shed light upon the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness.
God saw how good it was. Evening came, and morning followed–the fourth day.
Responsorial Psalm: PS 104:1-2A, 5-6, 10 and 12, 24 and 35c
R. (31b) May the Lord be glad in his works.
Bless the LORD, O my soul!
O LORD, my God, you are great indeed!
You are clothed with majesty and glory,
robed in light as with a cloak.
R. May the Lord be glad in his works.
You fixed the earth upon its foundation,
not to be moved forever;
With the ocean, as with a garment, you covered it;
above the mountains the waters stood.
R. May the Lord be glad in his works.
You send forth springs into the watercourses
that wind among the mountains.
Beside them the birds of heaven dwell;
from among the branches they send forth their song.
R. May the Lord be glad in his works.
How manifold are your works, O LORD!
In wisdom you have wrought them all—
the earth is full of your creatures;
Bless the LORD, O my soul! Alleluia.
R. May the Lord be glad in his works.
Alleluia cf. Matthew 4:23
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus preached the Gospel of the Kingdom
and cured every disease among the people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Mark 6:53-56
After making the crossing to the other side of the sea,
Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret
and tied up there.
As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him.
They scurried about the surrounding country
and began to bring in the sick on mats
to wherever they heard he was.
Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered,
they laid the sick in the marketplaces
and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak;
and as many as touched it were healed.
Commentary
Let us reflect with the words of the Holy Father, Pope Francis on this day that we started to read from the first book of the Bible. Genesis.. “God works. He continues to work and we can ask ourselves how we should respond to this creation of God, which was born from love because He works through love”. Thus, to the ‘first creation’ we must respond with the responsibility the Lord gives us: ‘The earth is yours, foster it; make it grow!’. For this reason, we too have the responsibility to make the earth flourish, to make creation flourish, to safeguard it and make it flourish according to its laws: we are lords of creation, not masters”. (Santa Marta, 9 February 2015)
Blessing
Through creation, God blessed just and genuine human labour. May all of us who labour for our daily bread find strength in the God of creation in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen!