13th Sunday in 2015

Our Gospel is taken from Mark 5: 21-43 which I call “The Double Miracle” Story. It is a double miracle not only because there are two miracles in this one Gospel event but more of the following considerations: First, there were TWO women as subjects of healing and they were opposite in age and circumstances. One was young and the other was an adult. The young one was at the point of death while the woman was suffering for years and yet she was not dying! The young one had her family, Jairus being her father but the woman seemed to be alone. (There is a legend that says this woman is St. Veronica.) The only similarity they had during the time of Jesus is that both were considered second class in their society. Second, there were TWO wills in this event; one was known and the other unknown. Jairus made known his will to Jesus that he wanted his child to be healed while the woman’s will was unknown to Jesus. Further, Jesus manifested His will before He healed the daughter of Jairus but with regard to the woman, Jesus manifested His will after she got healed. Then lastly, there were TWO different acts which moved Jesus to make miracles i.e., the act of Jairus wherein he begged on his daughter’s behalf for healing and the act of the woman by touching the garment of Jesus. My dear friends, this exposition on two different acts in this particular Gospel passage make us appreciate our identity as Catholics. Why? Because these two acts which resulted to a double miracle in the said Gospel passage, are embedded in our Catholic Tradition which until now most if not all Catholics practice them. Though some Christian denominations criticize us for such religious Tradition, but with this Scripture passage, we can say we do right in our Church. The two different acts which are described in our Scripture, one that of Jairus is now known in our common parlance as “Intercessory prayers” or “Intercession” which means that we pray for the sake of another person. The other is the act of the woman which is known to us today as “Expressions of Pop Religiosity” which are religious practices which keep the faith of many simple people alive and lively outside the Church’s liturgy. The first act, the “intercession”, we always do it especially when dates for board exams or Bar exams are fast approaching. The second act, “pop religiosity”, we can observe this during the celebration of the feast of Black Nazarene in Quiapo,  Senor Santo Nino in Kalibo and in Cebu, during Holy Week rituals, etc. Now, my dear friends, every time someone criticizes us for being fanatics or lunatics because of what we do to express our faith, well remember this “Double Miracle” story. What (act of faith) Jesus never condemned, let no one condemn it. To end, allow me to share my experience about “intercessory prayers”. One Sunday afternoon, after celebrating the mass with the Charismatic community, the elders of the said community had a meeting with me as their new Spiritual Director. After our meeting, one elder approached me and asked me to lay my hands on her because she was going to have her medical check-up with her husband in Manila. According to her, she badly needed an immediate medical attention. I was doubtful about myself that I asked all the elders to extend their hands toward her and pray together with me. I did not say anything except that I told God He could heal her if He wills it. Then we all went home after that. My dear friends, few days later, I was happy when she sent me a message while she was at the hospital telling me that the doctor could not find any trace of her sickness. It means she needed not to worry because everything was normal despite her previous medical results which pushed her to go to Manila for treatment. My dear friends, I myself could not explain what happened, but I believe that because of the community of elders who prayed for her, she has been healed. The power of community praying for a person reminds us of the power of intercessory prayers which is one of the two acts in our Gospel today. My dear friends, starting today, please pray for your priests as we also pray for you in our mass. Let our intercessory prayers for each other make miracles in our parishes. Amen.