The Gospel according to St. Matthew, ix. 18ā26
"And it came to pass that as Jesus was speaking these things unto John's disciples, behold a certain ruler came up, and adored Him, saying: Lord, my daughter is even now dead; but come, lay Thy hand upon her, and she shall live. And Jesus, rising up, followed him, with His disciples. And behold a woman who was troubled with an issue of blood twelve years came behind Him, and touched the hem of His garment. For she said within herself: If I shall touch only His garment, I shall be healed. But Jesus turning and seeing her, said: Be of good heart, daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour. And when Jesus was come into the house of the ruler, and saw the minstrels and the multitude making a rout, He said: Give place, for the girl is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed Him to scorn. And when the multitude was put forth, He went in, and took her by the hand. And the maid arose. And the fame hereof went abroad into all that country."
Summary of the Morrow's Meditation
We will meditate tomorrow upon the gospel of the day, and we shall learn from it: 1st, to have recourse with confidence to God in all our troubles; 2nd, not to put any confidence in creatures. Our resolution shall be: 1st, not to count upon human means in order to get out of the difficulties in which we find ourselves; 2nd, to call God to our aid by fervent and persevering prayers, accompanied by humility at the sight of our miseries, and of confidence at the sight of the divine mercies. Our spiritual nosegay shall be the words of Ecclesiasticus: "No one hath hoped in the Lord and hath been confounded" (Ecclus. ii. 11).
Meditation for the Morning
Let us adore Our Lord curing the sick who have recourse to Him, and thereby teaching us that it is to Him we must have recourse in the troubles of life. Let us adore His power, let us bless His goodness.
FIRST POINT
We ought in all our Troubles to have Recourse to God with Confidence.
The gospel of the day shows us, first, a prince of the synagogue, who, plunged into grief by the death of his daughter, aged twelve, comes to Jesus, prostrates himself at His feet, and adores Him as the master of life and of death. "Lord," he says, "my daughter is even now dead; but come, lay Thy hand upon her, and she shall live." Could there be more faith in the power of the Saviour, more confidence in His goodness? Therefore his faith and confidence were not deceived; Jesus takes the young girl by the hand, and she rises. The cure is sudden, complete; all are forced to recognize how good it is to confide in the power and the goodness of Jesus, and how, sensible as He is to our afflictions, He compassionates all our sufferings. The same day a person attacked by a serious infirmity, not daring to present herself to the Saviour, so unworthy does she deem herself to speak to Him, followed Him behind, mingling in the crowd where she tried to hide herself, and saying to herself, "If I shall touch only the hem of His garment, I shall be cured." Jesus, to whom the secrets of all hearts are known, heard this interior language; and touched by so much humility on the one side, and such lively faith on the other, and such entire confidence in the weakest of means, the simple contact of His garment, He turns round and says to her: "Be of good heart, daughter; thy faith hath made thee whole;" and at that moment she was cured. What a marvellous effect of prayer uttered with humility and confidence! Humility without confidence is useless; confidence without humility is presumption; humility and confidence joined together are all-powerful over the heart of God. Happy those who take these holy dispositions to Mass, to Communion, to visits to the Blessed Sacrament, where we have something better far than the garment of the Saviour, since we have therein His body, His blood, His soul, and His divinity!
SECOND POINT
No Dependence can be Placed upon the Support of Creatures; it is Deceptive.
The prince of the synagogue had his daughter's room filled with relations, friends, mourners, players on instruments, and a crowd of persons who had gathered together to console him. But what could they do to alleviate his grief? Men, said Job, "are all troublesome comforters" (Job xvi. 2), and all human means, without God, are powerless to cure our afflictions. Therefore the Saviour made all the multitude leave the room. He had no need of the help or concurrence of any witness. He alone was sufficient for the work He willed to do, and He proved it in a high degree by raising from the dead the youthful daughter of the prince of the synagogue. He did not show this any the less plainly in suddenly curing the poor woman who followed Him. She had had recourse to a great number of doctors, who had tried many remediesāall had been useless. Then she addresses herself to Jesus with faith and confidence, and immediately she is cured. So true it is that in God alone must we place our confidence; not, doubtless, that we must disdain human aid, it would be tempting God not to have recourse to it; but whilst employing it we must feel that it will be of efficacy only in proportion as it pleases God to bestow it, and that He will give this efficacy only in proportion to the measure of our confidence in His power and goodness.
Resolutions and spiritual nosegay as above.