Daily Reflection for Tuesday, September 10, 2019
| Peace and Blessings Friends and Parishioners, We encourage you to reflect on Tuesday’s readings at this link: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/091019.cfm If you prefer to use your own Bible, the readings are: First Reading: Colossians 2:6-15 Responsorial: Psalm 145:1b-2, 8-9, 10-11 Gospel: Luke 6:12-19 Our reflection on Tuesday’s readings: “Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him because power came forth from him and healed them all.” (John 6:19) “Touching” is a very important part of my relationships. I like keeping in “touch” with friends, many of whom are scattered across the U.S. and around the world. When our relationships are renewed after a long absence, the updating focuses on what has touched us most deeply . . . especially in our hearts! There’s the handshake, the pat on the back, the “high five,” and my personal favorite, the hug. Touching is the ultimate expression of closeness . . . we are no longer alone . . . we experience a sense of mutuality. I recall the first sleepover of our godson, Sam. A very loud thunderstorm struck and Sam was scared. But touching and hugging overcame fear and he fell asleep in my arms. Catholicism has many moments in which “touching” plays a key role, e.g., baptism, confirmation, ordination, marriage, healing, and reconciliation. I recall my first confession and my tear-filled emotions when the priest touched my head as he blessed me. More often, we touch the real Body and Blood of Christ in Holy Communion. While most “touching” involves family or friends, Jesus took it much further . . . he touched everyone! Just as the woman suffering from hemorrhages was healed by touching the hem of Jesus’ garment (Mark 5:21-43), we too can find healing by “touching” the living Body of Christ. You and I . . . the contemporary Body of Christ . . . can help bring healing and wholeness to other people by “touching” them with our loving faith, and by welcoming them to connect into our lives! I experienced this while dating Margot when she invited me (who went to church infrequently then) to attend Mass with her. That “touch” brought us a new, deeper, sense of togetherness. Even before the wedding, we were healing relational wounds in “touching” ways at the Sign of Peace. Fr. Ronald Rolheiser, OMI, spelled this out very clearly when he said, “The incredible graciousness, power and mercy that came into our world in Jesus is still, at least potentially so, in our world in us, the Body of Christ. What Jesus did, we too can do: in fact, that is precisely what we are asked to do.” Can I hear an AMEN on that? Bill Bradbury |