On the day Jesus raised Jairus’ daughter to life, he performed three other miracles. The first involved a woman who has been bleeding for twelve years. She had “heard of Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak; for she said, ‘If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well’. Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and felt she was healed.” (cf Mk 5:27-9)
“As Jesus moved on, two blind men followed, crying out and saying, ‘Have mercy on us, O Son of David’. When he came to the house, the blind men came to him. Jesus said to them, ‘Do you believe that I can do this to you?’
They answer, ‘Yes, Lord’. Then he touched their eyes, saying, ‘According to your faith be it done unto you’. And their eyes were opened.” (Mt 9:27-30)
Soon afterwards, “they brought him a dumb man possessed with a devil”. (Mt 9:32) Suffering from a double affliction and more pitiable because he cannot seek aid for himself. Luckily, charitable persons did this for him.
Jesus, without even waiting to be asked, commanded the devil to release his prey. Immediately “the dumb man spoke”. (Mt 9:33)
“It will often happen that after framing some pious intention, you will be tempted to abandon it; ... seems to you strange, compromising, dictated by vanity, too difficult, or even impossible. These are snares of the devil; despise them, and go steadily forward.” (St Ignatius of Loyola, “Spiritual Exercises”) Obeying the dictates of human wisdom shall obtain miracles.
The example of the two blind men inspires us to seize every opportunity to seek God’s graces and favor. Let us persevere in our prayers though apparently fruitless. Above all, let us make frequent acts of faith in the power and goodness of God.
Faith is the condition and measure of his gifts: “According to your faith be it done unto you.” (Mt 9:29)
How pitiful are those whom the devil makes dumb in the confessional: in prayer, when duty or charity requires them to speak! Let us take compassion on their misery and try to help them. Especially, let us imitate the readiness of Jesus to assist those hindered by modesty, or any other motive, from asking our help.
Ref: Cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp408-410
Unity Among Christians -- Patient Expectation, Not Inert Acceptance
It is important that every Christian man and every Christian woman seek individually in his and her own heart for what might hold back achievement of full union among Christians. Complete unity in faith is still lacking among us and must be won before being able to celebrate the Eucharist together in truth. The very desire for complete unity in faith is itself a gift of the Holy Spirit, and we humbly give thanks to God for it ...
Fidelity to the Holy Spirit requires interior conversion and fervent prayer. Let us pray that rightful patience in awaiting God’s hour shall not turn into inert acceptance of the status quo of division in the faith. Through God’s grace, may such patience never take the place of definite and generous response God demands to his call to perfect unity in Christ ...
Let us remember that we have been called to demonstrate ‘utmost fidelity to the Will of Christ’.
Let us persevere in asking the Holy Spirit to remove all divisions from our faith, to give us perfect unity in truth and love for which Christ prayed; for which Christ died: to bring together the children of God who were scattered.
Ref: Cf Pope John Paul II, “Prayers and Devotions”, 1994, p67
Jesus speaks to us in prayer
We find in Christ the fulness of revelation. Thus, St John of the Cross adds, “he who may now wish for some vision or revelation, not only would be wishing something foolish, but would offend God by not turning his eyes totally on Christ, wanting no novelty or any other thing, because God could answer him in this fashion, saying: ‘If I have already spoken to you of these things in my Word, who is my Son, and I have no other, what more can I answer or reveal to you?
“Fix your eyes on him alone, for in him I have said and revealed all to you, and in him you will find still more of what you are asking for and seeking ...; hear him, because I have no more faith to reveal nor any more things to make known.” (cf St John of the Cross, “The Ascent of Mount Carmel”, 2,22,5)
Let us, therefore, strive to listen to him and follow Mary’s counsel: “Do whatever He tells you.” (Jn 2:5)
We must go to our prayer to speak with God and be sensitive to his counsel, his inspirations and Will concerning our work, family and friends, whom we should try to bring closer to him. Our life is to be docile to what Jesus says to us in the intimacy of prayer, in the advice of spiritual direction; through incidents and events He sends or permits.
Our Mother, Mary teaches us to listen to her Son and to ponder things in our heart, just as she did. In her intimacy with God she knew what He wanted of her. Thus, she delved deeper and deeper into the mystery of the Redemption.
In prayer the events of her life made sense: the immense and incomparable joy of her vocation, the mission of Joseph, the poverty of Bethlehem, the arrival of the Magi, the hurried flight to Egypt, the sorrowful search for and joyous finding of Jesus when he was twelve years old, and the uneventful days of Nazareth.
Our Lady prayed and understood. The same will happen to us if we enter into an intimate dialogue with Jesus.
Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 3:333-5
Prayer for Heretics and Unbelievers
“LORD Jesus, most merciful Saviour of the world, we humbly beseech Thee, by Thy most Sacred Heart, that all the sheep who stray out of Thy fold, as well as those who are held by the darkness of error, may be converted to Thee, the Shepherd and Bishop of their souls Who lives and reigns with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.”
Prayer for Those in Any Danger
“O GOD, the singular protector of human weakness, hear, we beseech Thee, the prayers we humbly offer for those who are in peril, that Thou may save them from sin, and bring them to safety. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.”
Ref: Very Rev Charles J Callan, OP, STM and Very Rev John A McHugh, OP, STM, “Blessed Be God”, 1925, p469)
Lourdes: The tenth apparition
As had happened after the Jacomet interrogation, the Lady failed to appear on Friday. (Bernadette had gone despite M. Dutour’s explicit prohibition.)
On Saturday she returned to Massabielle and found an even greater crowd. According to M. Clarens, principal of the Lourdes High School, about 800 people were assembled. After reciting a few “Ave, Maria’s”, she fell into ecstasy, at which time she drank from the spring and went through the usual gestures of penitence.
Ref: G Menotti, “Lourdes”, 10
• Our Lady of Light, near Lisbon, in Portugal. A light was seen for a long time shining in this place, without any one being able to discover the cause of that phenomenon, when Our Lady, appearing to a prisoner, promised him liberty on condition of his erecting a church in her honour in this place, which she had chosen. — Antonius Vasconcellius in Descriptione regni Lusitaniae, c. 7, 5. ( “Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com)
• Our Lady of Lights (near Lisbon, Portugal). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html)
• Our Lady of Lights. Lisbon, Portugal and Palermo, Italy (18th Century). (www.divine will.org/feastofourlady.htm); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html); (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html)
• “Nossa Senhora das Luzes” / Our Lady of Lights. Lisbon, Portugal; Palermo, Italy. 18th century. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)
• Our Lady of Lights. Palermo, Italy. 18th Century. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)
• Our Lady of the Journey (Italy, 1617). (http://mariedenazareth.com)
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