Monday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Optional Memorial for Saint Elizabeth of Portugal) 

– in the United States perpetually transferred from July 4
Proper readings for the Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal
Biographical information about St. Elizabeth of Portugal
 
 Or
 
(Optional Memorial for Saint Anthony Zaccaria, Priest)
 
Proper readings for the Memorial of St. Anthony Zaccaria
Biographical information about  St. Anthony Zaccaria

“Raising of the Daughter of Jairus” (detail)
by Paolo Veronese, c. 1546

Readings for Monday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
Reading 1: Genesis 28:10-22a
 
Jacob departed from Beer-sheba and proceeded toward Haran.
When he came upon a certain shrine, as the sun had already set,
he stopped there for the night.
Taking one of the stones at the shrine, he put it under his head
and lay down to sleep at that spot.
Then he had a dream: a stairway rested on the ground,
with its top reaching to the heavens;
and God's messengers were going up and down on it.
And there was the LORD standing beside him and saying:
"I, the LORD, am the God of your forefather Abraham
and the God of Isaac;
the land on which you are lying
I will give to you and your descendants.
These shall be as plentiful as the dust of the earth,
and through them you shall spread out east and west, north and south.
In you and your descendants
all the nations of the earth shall find blessing.
Know that I am with you;
I will protect you wherever you go,
and bring you back to this land.
I will never leave you until I have done what I promised you."
 
When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he exclaimed,
"Truly, the LORD is in this spot, although I did not know it!"
In solemn wonder he cried out: "How awesome is this shrine!
This is nothing else but an abode of God,
and that is the gateway to heaven!"
Early the next morning Jacob took the stone
that he had put under his head,
set it up as a memorial stone, and poured oil on top of it.
He called the site Bethel,
whereas the former name of the town had been Luz.
 
Jacob then made this vow: "If God remains with me,
to protect me on this journey I am making
and to give me enough bread to eat and clothing to wear,
and I come back safe to my father's house, the LORD shall be my God.
This stone that I have set up as a memorial stone shall be God's abode."
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Commentary on Gn 28:10-22a
 
The story of the first patriarchs of the Jewish people continues with the story of “Jacob’s Dream.” Jacob takes a stone from a shrine at the holy place he later calls Bethel and uses it for a pillow. He has a dream in which God gives him and his descendants the land.
 
The notion of God being especially present in a specific physical location represents an ancient Jewish belief (shared by many other ancient Near Eastern religions) that God came to earth at “high places,” or special places requiring sacrifice to be offered and altars to be set up. God’s revelation in Christ informs us that God is omnipresent, that is, in all places equally present.
 
CCC: Gn 28:10-22 2573
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 91:1-2, 3-4, 14-15ab
 
R. (see 2b) In you, my God, I place my trust.
 
You who dwell in the shelter of the Most High,
who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
Say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."
R. In you, my God, I place my trust.
 
For he will rescue you from the snare of the fowler,
from the destroying pestilence.
With his pinions he will cover you,
and under his wings you shall take refuge.
R. In you, my God, I place my trust.
 
Because he clings to me, I will deliver him;
I will set him on high because he acknowledges my name.
He shall call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in distress.
R. In you, my God, I place my trust.
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Commentary on Ps 91:1-2, 3-4, 14-15ab
 
The hymn of thanksgiving, that is Psalm 91, gives praise to God for the salvation of his people.  He saves those who believe in him from distress and fear through his consolation and mercy.
 
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Gospel: Matthew 9:18-26
 
While Jesus was speaking, an official came forward,
knelt down before him, and said,
"My daughter has just died.
But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live."
Jesus rose and followed him, and so did his disciples.
A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him
and touched the tassel on his cloak.
She said to herself, "If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured."
Jesus turned around and saw her, and said,
"Courage, daughter!  Your faith has saved you."
And from that hour the woman was cured.
 
When Jesus arrived at the official's house
and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion,
he said, "Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping."
 
And they ridiculed him.
When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by the hand,
and the little girl arose.
And news of this spread throughout all that land.
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Commentary on Mt 9:18-26
 
Jesus continues his journey in this passage from Matthew’s Gospel. Again he engages in healing those who have faith in him. First, in a situation similar to the incident with the centurion's servant (Matthew 8:5-11; Luke 7:1-10), he is asked to help an official. As he is responding to that request, a woman with a hemorrhage approaches Jesus and reaches out to him. As she touches the tassel of his cloak, she experiences healing in that touch. In Mark and Luke the story is much more detailed. The Lord feels this touch and seeks out the woman (see Mark 5:25-34; Luke 8:43-48).
 
It is important to note that the woman, because of her hemorrhage, would have been considered "ritually impure" and excluded from all communal worship (Leviticus 15:19-23).  Through Christ's touch, she would have been allowed to return to God in worship.
 
Jesus arrives at the official's home and heals his daughter. In Mark’s Gospel (Mark 5:23) she was at the point of death, here she had already “fallen asleep,” meaning she had died. Again, Jesus, seeing the faith of the requester, raises her from her deathbed to new life.
 
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Reflection:
 
If we truly believe in the authority of Christ over death, death itself ceases to be a cause for fear.  If we truly believe Christ can heal us, a touch of his cloak will accomplish that healing.  How difficult it is to take that leap of faith.  The Lord was wise indeed when he said: “whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it." (Mark 10:15)
 
How can we come to such faith?  We know and understand that faith is a gift from God. We also know that through faith flows all the grace and strength we need.  We know that faith, like physical strength, can be grown through proper exercise and diet (exercise for faith is practice, and diet is the Word of God and sacraments).  And herein lays the paradox.  As we mature in our faith, we see all the depth and complexity of the truth Christ was pleased to reveal to us.  We hear his command to love God and others.  We can comprehend that this is done most completely by an innocent child (before they are taught by us not to trust or even speak to strangers; how insidious is the evil one who forces us to take away that innocence for their protection).
 
Yet our own experiences of life force us to take a more mature view of the world and people around us.  Our experiences of being hurt, trust being violated, and hatred by others, causes us to reject the innocent faith we need to embrace Christ’s teachings.  Always it seems that even as we reach out to touch that tassel of Jesus’ cloak, we pull back, afraid of what will happen (or what will not).
 
Today we pray for faith, the innocent faith of a child, that through it we might experience the healing miracle of the woman with a hemorrhage who through her faith was cured.  May God grant us trust in his infinite love and compassion this day.
 
Pax

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[1] The picture is “Raising of the Daughter of Jairus” (detail) Paolo Veronese, c. 1546.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.