THE TOUCH THAT HEALS
INTRODUCTORY RITES
Gather as a family/ community; create an environment appropriate for prayer (dress appropriately - switch off your phones...).
We cannot gather as usual for the Eucharist. But we are conscious that Christ is present not only in the Blessed Sacrament but also in the Scriptures and in our hearts. Even when we are on our own, we remain part of the Body of Christ.
Place lighted candles, a crucifix, and the Bible on a covered table. These remind us of the sacredness of our time of prayer and could help us feel connected with our local worshipping communities.
You may sing or play an appropriate hymn. For instance:
The Sign of the Cross
Greeting and Introductory Words
L: The Lord invites us to the table of his Word: let us bless him for his goodness.
A: Blessed be God forever.
L: Life is a beautiful gift from God, but it is brittle: sickness is a normal part of it; troubles and anxiety are woven into it. And everyone has a hard time dealing with illness and suffering.
The Word of God reminds us that God, in Jesus, is pro-life. Jesus touches people and restores them to wholeness. We ask Jesus to touch us with his power of life.
Penitential Rite
L: For the moments we have not allowed the Lord to touch us, we ask him to forgive us.
Pause
L: Lord Jesus, you touched the sick and restored them to health:
Lord, have mercy.
A: Lord, have mercy.
L: Lord Jesus, you touched sinners and forgave their sins:
Christ, have mercy.
A: Christ, have mercy.
L: Lord Jesus, you touched the dead and raised them to life:
Lord, have mercy.
A: Lord, have mercy.
L: May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins,
and bring us to everlasting life.
A: Amen.
Gloria
Opening Prayer
L: God of the living,
in whose image we have been formed,
dispel from your people the fear of death
and awaken within us the faith that saves.
Bid us rise from the death of sin
to take our place in the new creation.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.
A: Amen.
THE LITURGY OF THE WORD
Readings
The readings are those assigned for the day in the Lectionary.
Preferably use a Bible/ Lectionary for reading.
Reading 1 Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24
Psalm Psalm 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11, 12, 13
Response I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
Reading 2 2 Corinthians 8:7, 9, 13-15
Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia.
Our Savior Jesus Christ destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel.
Gospel Mark 5:21-43 (or short form Mark 5:21-24, 35b-43)
Reflection on the Readings
Use one of the following ways to reflect on the readings.
Lectio Divina
Imagine you are among the crowd surrounding Jesus. You witness the interaction between Jairus and Jesus, the woman with the haemorrhage and Jesus. What are your thoughts and feelings?
Sunday Snippets
Sue Knutson was hiking alone in the mountains when her foot slipped between two boulders. She felt sharp pain in her ankle, and then collapsed on her back.
Miles from civilization, Knutson, a nurse, held her leg in the air and used the only resource available—her hands—to reduce the swelling and shooting pain. She held her hands a few inches from her ankle and breathed deeply and slowly. The pain began to ebb, and after thirty minutes she was able to limp to the road unassisted. At the emergency room, doctors said she had a severe medial lateral sprain and she’d have to be in a cast for four months. Six weeks later, her ankle had healed enough for doctors to remove the cast. Knutson had used the power of touch.
That’s what Jesus does in today’s dramatic passage. We have two healing stories and the people involved could not be more different. Jairus represented the upper crust of society: rich, powerful, and religiously prominent. The woman was a social outcast: since she was haemorrhaging, she was considered unclean and not allowed to set foot in the synagogue. In each situation, Jesus’ touch makes the person whole. God, in Jesus, loves into wholeness these two vastly different people, and restores them to community and communion.
Even more, he establishes a relationship with them! He calls the woman “daughter” and Jairus’ daughter “little girl”. God, in Jesus, makes them his children.
This Gospel reveals Jesus as the source of life and healing; it reveals our God as “pro-life”! As the first reading says: “God takes no pleasure in the extinction of the living... he fashioned all things that they might have being.”
Each of us needs healing. Like Jairus’, we need to come to the Lord, fall on our knees and plead with him to lay his hands on us. Or like the woman, we need to touch him. May we hear his words “talitha koum” addressed to each one of us, and experience healing and wholeness. And may we, in turn, touch others to health and wholeness.
Questions to Ponder
Reflect on some (or all) of the following questions:
Reading 1: “For he fashioned all things that they might have being; and the creatures of the world are wholesome.” Do I have any responsibility to respect the whole of creation and keep everything wholesome that is fashioned by God? What can I do to protect our environment?
Reading 2: This reading is about sharing one’s abundance. What do I have that I can share? How much time am I willing to give another? How much of my treasure am I willing to share? When I share do I also receive?
Gospel: When have I experienced God’s power in my life? How can I become more aware of God acting in my life? What small acts can I do to alleviate suffering… in my community, in my neighbourhood?
The Creed
Prayer of the Faithful
L: We believe in a God who created us for life. Let us trustingly bring before him all the pains and illnesses of the world and of God’s people, and let us pray: Lord, hear our prayer.
R: For the Church: that we, who are made in the image of God, may celebrate God’s gift of life to us and live it with gratitude and zeal, we pray…
R: For the leaders of nations: that they may find ways to work together to develop programs that address the greatest needs in society and the advancement of the common good, we pray…
R: For all who are ill, particularly children and those with chronic conditions: that God may renew the gift of life within them and restore them to health and wholeness, we pray…
R: For the parents of children who are ill: that God may comfort them, ease their fear, and give them strength to keep loving and supporting their children, we pray…
R: For those incapacitated by age, disability, and mental illness: that we may respect them as persons and they may receive the food, shelter, and medical care they need, we pray…
R: For stewardship of earth’s resources: that we may receive the grace to respect and care for God’s creation, we pray…
R: For ourselves: that God may draw us into a deeper relationship, help us to trust during these challenging times, and free us from fear, we pray…
L: Father, your Son Jesus touched people and they were healed. Let him take us by the hand and raise us up from sin and discouragement. Let him touch us with the warmth of his love that our love may revive others, especially the poor and those who suffer. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
A: Amen.
SPIRITUAL COMMUNION
The Lord’s Prayer
Spiritual Communion
A: Jesus, I know and believe in your real presence in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist. It is you I desire to love and receive above all things. As I am unable to receive your sacramental presence now, come and be with me in heart and soul. Let my entire self be united with you as I welcome you again and know your loving embrace. Amen.
Post Spiritual Communion Reflection
Lord,
an official, Jairus, falls at your feet and pleads;
a suffering lady boldly touches his cloak.
And you grant their wishes through your touch.
Jesus,
I believe.
Let your healing flow into me, too.
Please touch me with your grace.
- adapted from Anne Osdieck, Prayer Path.
CONCLUDING RITE
Concluding Prayer
L: God our Father,
your Son Jesus Christ touched people
and they were healed and they lived.
Let him take us by the hand
and raise us from sin and discouragement.
Let him touch us with his love
that our love may revive others,
especially the poor and those who suffer .
Through Christ our Lord.
A: Amen.
Blessing
L: The Lord bless us, protect us from all evil, and lead us to everlasting life.
A: Amen.
L: Go in the peace of Christ.
A: Thanks be to God.
Conclude with a hymn. For instance:
