February 1, Tuesday, 4th Week of Ordinary Time
Daily Readings: 1 Samuel 18: 9-10. 14. 24-25. 30- 19: 3, Psalm 86: 1-2. 3-4. 5-6, Mark 5: 21-43
The readings can be viewed as a spiritual wake-up call. They ask us to refocus and ensure we live a life of faith. We often find ourselves pulled in countless directions and sometimes forget our common vocation to become righteous servants of God. Therefore, the readings remind us we must continually place faith in God and trust his guidance in our daily lives.
Through the example of Jesus, God shows that we are not alone when we encounter challenges or struggles in our faith. Jesus experienced great suffering in his life devoted to serving God, and the reading reveals that Christ will continue to be present in the hell we face each day. As we continue to try to live out our faith, we must realize that Christ will always be with us, even in instances of intense hardship.
The Gospel reading carries on the theme of the importance of faith by providing two great examples of people placing great trust in the power of Jesus. The woman has been afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years.
Twelve years is a long time to have a painful disease, and this part always struck me when I read the Gospel. It would be understandable for the woman to have given up. She could have just accepted that she would always have the disease and that it would never get better.
When the woman trusts that she can be healed just by touching Christ's cloak, she shows a form of complete faith in the saving power of Christ. Even though she probably has had no previous experience with Jesus, she can still believe that Christ will be able to help her, and Jesus responds to her great faith by completely healing her.
The readings reveal that faith is a needed part of experiencing God in our lives. Faith helps us remember that God will forever be with us, no matter how dire the situation. Therefore, we should strive to live out Jesus’ proclamation in the Gospel when he says, "Do not be afraid; just have faith.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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