Important R.E. Dates for Term 3

Saturday July 20th @ 6pm: Confirmation Family Commitment Mass

Tuesday July 23rd @ 9:15am: Grandparent’s Day Mass

Wednesday July 31st: Reconciliation available for Grade 4 during school time

Thursday August 1st: Reconciliation available for Grade 4 during school time

Tuesday August 13th 8.45am-3.15pm: Confirmation Retreat Day

Thursday August 15th @ 9:15am: Feast of the Assumption Mass

Tuesday August 20th: Reconciliation available for Grade 6 during school time

Thursday August 22nd: Reconciliation available for Grade 6 during school time

Tuesday August 20th @ 3.30 - 4.30pm: Confirmation Family Faith Sharing Afternoon

Wednesday August 21st: Bishop Ireland visits Confirmation students during school time

Tuesday August 27th @ 9:15am: Father’s Day Mass

Friday August 30th @ 5pm: Sacrament of Confirmation Mass

Gospel

Mark 5:21-43

Jesus heals a woman afflicted with a hemorrhage and raises Jairus’s daughter from death.

Unpacking the Scriptures

The Gospel of Mark this Sunday tells us two stories in one reading! One tells us a father’s great love for his dying daughter and the other about a desperate woman who risks much as she seeks healing from Jesus. In both stories, the request for healing is a courageous act of faith.

Jairus is a synagogue official, a man of important standing in the Jewish community. Distraught over his daughter’s failing health, he approaches Jesus to heal her. As Jesus leaves with him making his way through a crowd in the streets, a second person interrupts the narrative. A woman with a hemorrhage secretly touches Jesus from behind and is immediately cured. During Jesus' time, a woman to touch another man would have been inappropriate and ritually 'unclean' as she was bleeding and Jewish customs required isolation and approval from the priest before being allowed in public again. In response however, Jesus turns and asks who touched him, knowing that power had gone out of him. With even further courage the woman steps forward and acknowledges what she has done. Jesus responds by acknowledging her as a model of faith and sends her away healed in peace.

At this point, we can imagine Jairus’s impatience; his daughter is dying and Jesus has stopped along the way. Unfortunately at that moment messengers arrive and confirm Jairus’s worst fear: his daughter has passed. Jesus calmly ignores their message and reassures Jairus. When Jesus enters Jairus' house he passes by the weeping family and enters the room of the dead girl. Jesus gently takes her by the hand, and instructs her "Talitha Cum", meaning "Little girl, get up". Jairus’s faith in Jesus was not in vain; his daughter is restored to life.

The contrasts between the two characters seeking healing are stark and revealing. One is a man, the other is a woman. One is a public official, an important person in the community. The other has lost everything to find a cure to a condition that separated her from the community. One approaches Jesus publicly, the other secretly. However in each case, faith led them to seek out Jesus in their need. As the reader of Mark’s Gospel, we must make our own judgment about Jesus’ identity, our own act of faith in affirming Jesus as God’s Son.

Family Connection

Discuss with your child the power of a healing touch. Hugs are sometimes the most effective healing when children slip and fall. In both stories Jesus' healing came through physical contact and spoken word. There are many ways in which we can compare the request for healing made by Jairus and the request of the woman with the hemorrhage. One comparison helps us think about our prayers. Jairus asked for healing on his daughter’s behalf, but the woman had no one to speak for her and bravely approached Jesus herself. In our prayers, we do the both. We ask for others’ needs, and courageously express our own needs to God.

Pray

Gather together, light a candle and acknowledge that you are in the presence of God in a moment of silence. Read the Gospel Mark 4:35-41. As a family name the needs of others and your own that you can pray for - a sick friend, a family member who is suffering, etc. You may use the following prayer to help guide you in expressing your desires:

Heavenly Father,

We come before you with a humble heart, seeking your healing touch. We lift up [name] to you, asking for your grace and mercy to surround them in their time of need. Please bring healing to their body, mind, and spirit. Your Word declares that you are the Great Physician, and I trust in your power to restore [name] to full health. May your peace and comfort be upon them, and may they experience the warmth of your love as they journey toward recovery. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

India Mitchell-Fletcher

Religious Education Leader

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