Jesus is doing what Jesus does: curing the sick and preaching the Good News to eager crowds. He is touching people, healing people, freeing people. While the Pharisees reject Him and accuse Him of being in league with the devil, the throngs of people long for His healing presence; they are “troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.” And Jesus’ loving heart is “moved with pity for them.” His love longs to shepherd them into the fullness of life, into truth and beauty and goodness, forever.

This aching love of Jesus to heal and free every single person drives Him to all the towns and villages, to teach in their synagogues and proclaim the Good News, and cure “every disease and illness.” There is always more to do, more people to reach, and His time is short.

He reminds His disciples that the people have a deep need, more vast than they can fill, so they must pray for laborers to continue this work. The Church is to be the way this work continues, the continuous presence of Christ the Good Shepherd to His troubled sheep, to all the nations until the end of time. Through the Church, the work of salvation continues through the Sacraments, which are Christ’s way of remaining with us. Through them He touches us and heals us and frees us and draws us into the Family of God, from the very beginning of our life in Christ until the last moments of our lives on this earth. And these Sacraments are ordinarily administered to us through the ministerial priesthood, those chosen and called to be laborers for the harvest in the particular way of Holy Orders.

“The harvest is abundant,” and we must pray for laborers for the harvest – for vocations to the priesthood to continue the work of salvation Jesus entrusted to His Church. But we must not forget that we are all called to work in the Vineyard of the Lord by virtue of our Baptism, when we are cleansed of Original Sin, reborn of water and the Spirit, and then anointed into the Body of the risen Christ, anointed into His mission as priest, prophet, and king. Our baptismal grace calls each of us to the very work of Christ, each laboring for the Kingdom according to our vocation and state in life.

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Jesús está haciendo lo que hace Jesús: curar a los enfermos y predicar la Buena Nueva a multitudes entusiastas. Está tocando a las personas, sanando a las personas, liberándolas. Mientras los fariseos lo rechazan y lo acusan de estar en complicidad con el diablo, las multitudes de personas anhelan su presencia sanadora; están “extenuadas y desamparadas, como ovejas sin pastor”. Y el corazón amoroso de Jesús “se compadecía de ellos”. Su amor anhela pastorearlos hacia la plenitud de la vida, hacia la verdad, la belleza y la bondad, para siempre.

Este amor añorador de Jesús por sanar y liberar a cada persona lo impulsa a todos los pueblos y aldeas, a enseñar en sus sinagogas y proclamar la Buena Nueva, y curar “toda enfermedad y dolencia”. Siempre hay más por hacer, más personas a las que llegar, y su tiempo es corto.

Les recuerda a sus discípulos que la gente tiene una necesidad profunda, más vasta de la que pueden satisfacer, por lo que deben orar por trabajadores que continúen esta obra. La Iglesia debe ser el camino para que esta obra continúe, la presencia continua de Cristo, el Buen Pastor, para sus ovejas atribuladas, para todas las naciones hasta el fin de los tiempos. A través de la Iglesia, la obra de salvación continúa mediante los Sacramentos, que son la manera en que Cristo permanece con nosotros. A través de ellos, Él nos toca, nos sana, nos libera y nos atrae hacia la Familia de Dios, desde el comienzo mismo de nuestra vida en Cristo hasta los últimos momentos de nuestra vida en esta tierra. Y estos Sacramentos se nos administran ordinariamente a través del sacerdocio ministerial, aquellos elegidos y llamados a ser obreros para la cosecha en el modo particular del Orden Sagrado.

“La cosecha es mucha”, y debemos orar por obreros para la cosecha, por vocaciones al sacerdocio para continuar la obra de salvación que Jesús confió a su Iglesia. Pero no debemos olvidar que todos estamos llamados a trabajar en la Viña del Señor en virtud de nuestro Bautismo, cuando somos purificados del Pecado Original, renacidos del agua y del Espíritu, y luego somos ungidos en el Cuerpo de Cristo resucitado, ungidos para Su misión de sacerdote, profeta y rey. La gracia bautismal nos llama a cada uno a la obra misma de Cristo, trabajando cada uno por el Reino según nuestra vocación y estado de vida.

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The faith of the hemorrhaging woman is astounding! Having exhausted all her medical options, she seeks assistance from the Divine Physician. Her faith, Jesus will later tell her, is what made her well. Her courage to reach out for healing became the remedy for her chronic ailment.

Jesus allows us to reach out to Him for healing, for help, for abundant graces — to reach out and touch His heart with our acts of faith and love. After nearly twenty years in Catholic ministry, I have witnessed how few people realize how precious they are to the Lord. Whatever our reasons may be, we tend to be unaware of the deep, abiding love Jesus has for us. Saint Paul writes, “But God shows His love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8), proving that God’s love for us is never conditioned on our perfection. 

While the woman’s faith is attributed to her recovery, I want to emphasize that faith never guarantees automatic healing, nor does a lack of healing indicate insufficient faith or that someone didn’t pray enough. God’s plan is beyond our understanding, and His purpose is not merely to provide temporary solutions, as any earthly healing would only be fleeting. Instead, He desires for us to be with Him in heaven for eternity. 

Jesus looks around to identify who had touched Him (Lk 8:45). Courage, maybe fueled by desperation, moved the hemorrhaging woman to seek Jesus’ help. Moved by her faith, He then seeks her out. The Apostles assume Jesus is trying to figure out the source of a physical touch, but I can’t help but wonder if He’s asking a deeper question, too: “Who has touched My heart with your trust, hope, courage, and faith?” Perhaps desperation drove her, but regardless of the reason, she found the courage to take a leap of faith and reach out.

What do I need to reach out to Jesus for? What fear or doubt holds me back from doing so? Even though I know He welcomes it, I still worry about reaching out to Jesus. I struggle with this crazy belief that I only get so many prayers answered in my life. Yet the truth is that Jesus is not a genie in a bottle; there’s no limit to His love, mercy, and desire to assist me. Even if He does not answer in the way I think He should, He will never leave a prayer unanswered. I know I certainly have found myself in situations where I suffered far longer than I needed to out of stubbornness or ignorance. If I would just reach out to Him in faith, I would be able to go in peace, just as Jesus instructed the woman in today’s Gospel.

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La fe de la mujer que sufría una hemorragia es asombrosa. Después de haber agotado todas sus opciones médicas, busca la ayuda del Médico Divino. Su fe, le dirá Jesús más tarde, es lo que la hizo sanar. Su valor al acercarse a buscar la sanación se convirtió en el remedio para su dolencia crónica.

Jesús nos permite acercarnos a Él para recibir sanación, ayuda, y gracias abundantes, para acercarnos y tocar Su corazón con nuestros actos de fe y amor. Después de casi veinte años en el ministerio católico, he sido testigo de cuán pocas personas se dan cuenta de lo valiosas que son para el Señor. Cualesquiera sean nuestras razones, tendemos a no ser conscientes del profundo y permanente amor que Jesús tiene por nosotros. San Pablo escribe: “Dios demuestra su amor por nosotros en que siendo aún pecadores, Cristo murió por nosotros” (Rom 5,8), lo que demuestra que el amor de Dios por nosotros nunca está condicionado a nuestra perfección. 

Aunque la fe de la mujer se atribuye a su recuperación, quiero enfatizar que la fe nunca garantiza la sanación automática, ni la falta de sanación indica una fe insuficiente o que alguien no haya orado lo suficiente. El plan de Dios está más allá de nuestro entendimiento, y su propósito no es simplemente brindar soluciones temporales, ya que cualquier sanación terrenal sería fugaz. En cambio, desea que estemos con Él en el cielo por la eternidad.

Jesús mira a su alrededor para identificar quién lo había tocado (Lc 8,45). La valentía, tal vez impulsada por la desesperación, alentó a la mujer con hemorragia a buscar la ayuda de Jesús. Movido por su fe, Él la busca. Los apóstoles suponen que Jesús está tratando de averiguar la fuente de un toque físico, pero me pregunto si también está haciendo una pregunta más profunda: “¿Quién ha tocado mi corazón con su confianza, esperanza, valentía y fe?” Tal vez la desesperación la impulsó, pero independientemente de la razón, encontró la valentía para dar un salto de fe y acercarse.

¿Para qué necesito acercarme a Jesús? ¿Qué temor o duda me impide hacerlo? Aunque sé que Él lo acepta con agrado, todavía me preocupa acercarme a Jesús. Batallo con esta loca creencia de que solo puedo recibir una cierta cantidad de respuestas a mis oraciones en la vida. Sin embargo, la verdad es que Jesús no es un genio en una botella; no hay límites para Su amor, Su misericordia y Su deseo de ayudarme. Incluso si no responde de la manera que creo que debería, nunca dejará una oración sin respuesta. Sé que ciertamente me he encontrado en situaciones en las que sufrí mucho más tiempo del necesario por terquedad o ignorancia. Si tan solo me acercara a Él con fe, podría irme en paz, tal como Jesús le instruyó a la mujer en el Evangelio de hoy.

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When the disciples are tasked with feeding five thousand men across from the Sea of Galilee, they are understandably dumbfounded: How can they feed so large a crowd with no food of their own, not much money, and five barley loaves and two fish? Yet, they do not bat an eye when Jesus tells them to prepare the crowd for a meal. Instead of relying on their own intuition and arguing with Jesus about the absurdity of feeding over five thousand people with such a small amount of food, they simply do what He says, knowing that He will provide for His people.

The disciples understand our Gospel acclamation, that “one does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). They have no idea how to approach the situation, but they have learned to trust in Jesus’ direction, even for matters of physical survival. His direction is better than anything they could come up with, even if it seems absurd at the time.

This outlook complements that of the psalmist, whose sole aim is to dwell in the house of the Lord rather than in other, more familiar places. And in our First Reading, we see Gamaliel saying something similar: “If [the gospel message] comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them; you may even find yourselves fighting against God” (Acts 5:39). He does not want to resist something that might come from God, even if he does not understand it.

Gamaliel, the psalmist, and the disciples see the point of remaining fixed on God, trusting in His direction even when it is difficult. They know that if God ordains something, guiding it with His hand, it cannot fail. If He gives direction, it will not be followed in vain. To dwell in His house is better than all else.

This is a profound trust that we need to adopt in our own lives. There is a subtle self-reliance that creeps in when we spend too much time seeking security by our own efforts alone. We plan far ahead, without consulting God concerning what He wants for our lives and for our loved ones. Inevitably, our best laid plans fail, and we make new ones, which fare no better. If we are not used to consulting God and trusting that He truly has things under control, we rely on worldly methods to maintain security, prestige, and wealth, so that we can have everything necessary for a good and peaceful life. Seeking easy steps to success, we look to social media and popular wisdom to solve our problems. If these solutions are divorced from spirituality, they never bring us the peace and security we seek.

Ultimately, we need to trust in what God has already told us through readings such as these. Even and especially when things look confusing and hopeless, God is in control. We must listen to Him and seek His will in these moments through prayer, Scripture, the sacraments, and spiritual direction, trusting in what He tells us, even if we cannot understand the reasons for it. We cannot expect to fully understand the ways of God, but that does not mean that they are inferior to the ways we can come up with on our own. Dwelling in His house is the goal, and His direction and protection are best for us in all situations.

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Cuando los discípulos tienen la tarea de alimentar a cinco mil hombres al otro lado del Mar de Galilea, se quedan estupefactos: ¿Cómo pueden alimentar a una multitud tan grande sin comida propia, sin mucho dinero, cinco panes de cebada y dos peces? Sin embargo, no se inmutan cuando Jesús les dice que preparen a la multitud para una comida. En lugar de confiar en su propia intuición y discutir con Jesús acerca de lo absurdo de alimentar a más de cinco mil personas con una cantidad tan pequeña de comida, simplemente hacen lo que les manda, sabiendo que proveerá para Su pueblo.

Los discípulos entienden nuestra aclamación evangélica, que “No sólo de pan vive el hombre, sino también de toda palabra que sale de la boca de Dios.” (Mt 4,4). No tienen idea de cómo abordar la situación, pero han aprendido a confiar en la dirección de Jesús, incluso en cuestiones de supervivencia física. Su orientación es mejor que cualquier cosa que se les haya ocurrido, incluso si parece absurdo en ese momento.

Esta perspectiva complementa la del salmista, cuyo único objetivo es morar en la casa del Señor y no en otros lugares más familiares. Y en nuestra Primera Lectura, vemos a Gamaliel diciendo algo similar: “si lo que se proponen y están haciendo es de origen humano, se acabará por sí mismo. Pero si es cosa de Dios, no podrán ustedes deshacerlo. No se expongan a luchar contra Dios” (Hechos 5:39). No quiere resistirse a algo que podría venir de Dios, aunque no lo entienda.

Gamaliel, el salmista y los discípulos ven el punto de mantenerse fijos en Dios, confiando en Su orientación incluso cuando sea difícil. Saben que si Dios ordena algo, guiándolo con Su mano, no puede fallar. Si orienta a alguien, sus indicaciones no serán seguidas en vano. Morar en Su casa es mejor que cualquier otra cosa.

Esta es una confianza profunda que necesitamos adoptar en nuestras propias vidas. Hay una autosuficiencia sutil que se cuela cuando pasamos demasiado tiempo buscando seguridad solo con nuestros propios esfuerzos. Planeamos con mucha anticipación, sin consultar a Dios sobre lo que quiere para nuestra vida y la de nuestros seres queridos. Inevitablemente, nuestros planes fallan y creamos otros nuevos, y no nos va mejor. Si no estamos acostumbrados a consultar a Dios y confiar en que realmente tiene las cosas bajo su control, nos apoyamos en métodos mundanos para mantener la seguridad, el prestigio y la riqueza, para que podamos tener todo lo necesario para una vida buena y pacífica. Buscando pasos fáciles hacia el éxito, recurrimos a las redes sociales y la sabiduría popular para resolver nuestros problemas. Si estas soluciones están separadas de la espiritualidad, nunca nos traerán la paz y la seguridad que buscamos.

En última instancia, debemos confiar en lo que Dios ya nos ha dicho a través de las escrituras, como las lecturas de hoy. Incluso y especialmente cuando las cosas parecen confusas y sin esperanza, Dios tiene todo bajo control. Debemos escucharlo y buscar su voluntad en estos momentos a través de la oración, la Escritura, los sacramentos y la dirección espiritual, confiando en lo que nos dice, aunque no podamos entender las razones. No podemos esperar comprender completamente los caminos de Dios, pero eso no significa que sean inferiores a los caminos que podemos encontrar por nuestra cuenta. Morar en Su casa es la meta, y Su orientación y su protección son lo mejor para nosotros en todas las situaciones.

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“When they heard this, they became infuriated and wanted to put them to death.”

The Apostles were so convicted by their experience of Jesus Christ, that they continued to tell his story even when those in power wanted to put them to death. Let that sink in for a moment. They wanted them put to death. And the Apostles did not stop. 

We live in a time when we are taught not to discuss religion and politics. We have witnessed people shamed and brought down for standing up for their convictions. It is a time of “political correctness” and “cancel culture”. 

This hits home hard for me. It is hard for me to even write these words. I am ashamed to admit that there have been times in my life when I have not brought up my faith because I was afraid it would make for an uncomfortable dinner conversation. I have neglected to share the grace I have received, because I wasn’t sure how the person would react, they might think I was weird or worse. I had a job once where I was cautioned to tuck in my crucifix because I was around people who didn’t like Catholics and I complied. No one has threatened my life, but there have definitely been times when I didn’t tell the story of Jesus Christ and the wonders he has worked. For that I am ashamed. 

A personal encounter with Jesus Christ has the ability to transform us. A personal encounter with Jesus Christ is able to take us outside of ourselves and move us into meaningful encounters with others. It is our mission to go out into the world and tell the story of Jesus Christ and his mercy. We are not to tell it once and then go back home, we are to tell the story over and over. More than that, we are to live the story. We are to live in such a way that mercy is our hallmark; where telling others how much they are loved is part of just who we are and how we operate. 

So I will take comfort from John’s words in the Gospel. “He does not ration his gift of the Spirit.” As I bend my will to conform more and more to God’s will, I can trust that God will not ration his gift of the Spirit so that each day I can start anew and along with the Psalmist “bless the Lord at all times.” Even when it feels uncomfortable. 

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