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First Reading: Hebrews 12:1-4
Brothers and sisters:
Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us
and persevere in running the race that lies before us
while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus,
the leader and perfecter of faith.
For the sake of the joy that lay before him
Jesus endured the cross, despising its shame,
and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God.
Consider how he endured such opposition from sinners,
in order that you may not grow weary and lose heart.
In your struggle against sin
you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 22:26b-27, 28 and 30, 31-32
R./ They will praise you, Lord, who long for you.
I will fulfill my vows before those who fear him.
The lowly shall eat their fill;
they who seek the Lord shall praise him:
“May your hearts be ever merry!”
R./ They will praise you, Lord, who long for you.
All the ends of the earth
shall remember and turn to the Lord;
All the families of the nations
shall bow down before him.
To him alone shall bow down
all who sleep in the earth;
Before him shall bend
all who go down into the dust.
R./ They will praise you, Lord, who long for you.
And to him my soul shall live;
my descendants shall serve him.
Let the coming generation be told of the Lord
that they may proclaim to a people yet to be born
the justice he has shown.
R./ They will praise you, Lord, who long for you.
Gospel Reading: Mark 5:21-43
When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side,
a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea.
One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward.
Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying,
“My daughter is at the point of death.
Please, come lay your hands on her
that she may get well and live.”
He went off with him
and a large crowd followed him.
There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years.
She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors
and had spent all that she had.
Yet she was not helped but only grew worse.
She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd
and touched his cloak.
She said, “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.”
Immediately her flow of blood dried up.
She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.
Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him,
turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who has touched my clothes?”
But his disciples said to him,
“You see how the crowd is pressing upon you,
and yet you ask, Who touched me?”
And he looked around to see who had done it.
The woman, realizing what had happened to her,
approached in fear and trembling.
She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth.
He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you.
Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.”
While he was still speaking,
people from the synagogue official’s house arrived and said,
“Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?”
Disregarding the message that was reported,
Jesus said to the synagogue official,
“Do not be afraid; just have faith.”
He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside
except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.
When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official,
he caught sight of a commotion,
people weeping and wailing loudly.
So he went in and said to them,
“Why this commotion and weeping?
The child is not dead but asleep.”
And they ridiculed him.
Then he put them all out.
He took along the child’s father and mother
and those who were with him
and entered the room where the child was.
He took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum,”
which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise!”
The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around.
At that they were utterly astounded.
He gave strict orders that no one should know this
and said that she should be given something to eat.
Opening Prayer
Almighty Father,
often we hunger for power
when we don’t have it,
we ask for more when we possess it,
and then we don’t know how to use it well.
Help us always to accept the power
of our influence, our potentials, and talents
as gifts coming from your hands
and to use them for the good of others,
to heal and to forgive,
to bring life and to build up,
as Jesus did, your Son,
who lives with you for ever.
First Reading Introduction: Let us persevere in running the race that lies before us.
The letter to the Hebrews ends in two chapters asking its readers, as they suffer for their faith, to persevere. They should keep their faith and be inspired by the great believers who came before them and especially by Christ.
Gospel Introduction: Little girl, I say to you, arise!
Jesus uses his power to do good and to give an object lesson on faith to his disciples and to the people. It is a power that gives health and life. When the woman touches Jesus with a sort of magic belief in his power, he insists on faith; so he does when, as a sign of his own resurrection, he brings Jairus’ daughter back to life. Should power in us not mean also a power that lifts up, a power of resurrection?
General Intercessions
– That the Church may continue with compassion Jesus’ healing ministry, that the sick may be comforted, the downtrodden set free, and the poor and the weak protected, we pray:
– That in this world of hunger for food and spiritual values, affluent Churches and nations may share generously with those who have less, we pray:
– That doctors and nurses and all others who care for the ill and the handicapped may have a great respect for life and be inspired in their task by the love of Christ, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord God, almighty Father
fill the gifts we bring before you
with the power of your Holy Spirit,
that they may become for us
the bread of resurrection and life
of Jesus Christ, your Son.
Through this Eucharist,
change us into people of hope and joy
who go together the way of life
of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord God, almighty Father,
you have given us the body and blood of your Son
as a source of life-giving power.
Do not allow us to leave it idle,
but help us to use it as a force
to uplift the people around us
and to build together a world
of reconciliation, justice, and love.
May, thus, the resurrection of Jesus
work among us already now,
until you raise us up on the last day
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Blessing
“Power had gone out from him,” says the Gospel today of Jesus. It was a power that healed and brought back to life. If we have power, may we use it always to raise people up, never to put them down. And may Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
