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A
Reflection on Mark 6:53-56
In today's Gospel, we witness
something extraordinary: people weren't just seeking Jesus; they were
desperately reaching for even the smallest connection to Him. They brought the
sick on mats, laid them in marketplaces, and begged simply to touch the fringe
of His cloak. Think about that for a moment. These people believed so deeply
that even the smallest physical contact with Jesus could heal them completely.
And Mark tells us that as many as touched Him were made well. Every single one.
This was faith meeting Divine Love, and that encounter changed everything.
What's remarkable is that this same Jesus, the one whose garment held such
power, is even more available to us today than He was to those crowds in
Gennesaret. In the Eucharist, we don't just touch His cloak; we receive His
very Body and Blood. When we pray the Rosary, we don't just reach toward Him
from a distance; we walk alongside His Mother through the mysteries of His
life, death, and resurrection. The beads slip through our fingers like that
fringe of His garment, each Hail Mary, a gentle touch that draws us closer to
the One who heals, the One who transforms, the One who saves.
The people in the Gospel recognized their desperate need for Jesus. They didn't
pretend to be self-sufficient or independent. They knew they were broken, sick,
and unable to save themselves, and that honesty led them directly to the source
of all healing. How often do we approach our faith with that same urgent need?
Do we reach for Jesus in the Eucharist, in prayer, in the Rosary, with the same
desperation as someone who knows their very life depends on it? Or have we
become comfortable, assuming we can manage on our own? The truth is, we're just
as broken as those who lie on mats in the marketplace. We simply need the
humility to admit it.
Every time we make the Sign of the Cross, every time we receive Communion,
every time we hold the Rosary and meditate on Jesus's life through Mary's eyes,
we have the opportunity these people had: to touch Jesus and be made whole. The
same power that flowed from His garment flows from the sacraments, from
authentic prayer, from the Church He established. The question isn't whether
Jesus can heal us; the Gospel makes clear that everyone who touched Him was
healed. The question is whether we'll reach out to Him with faith, believing
that He can transform our brokenness into something beautiful, our wounds into
witnesses of His mercy.
Questions to Consider:
• What areas of brokenness or sickness
in my life, physical, spiritual, or emotional, am I hesitant to bring to Jesus,
and what would it look like to "lay them in the marketplace" before
Him today?
• When I receive the Eucharist or pray
the Rosary, do I approach with the desperate faith of those who touched Jesus's
garment, or have these sacred encounters become routine?
• Who are the people in my life lying
on "mats" of suffering that I could help bring into Jesus's presence
through my prayers, actions, or simply by accompanying them?
• How does recognizing my own
brokenness and need for Jesus change the way I see others who are struggling or
suffering?
©2026 James Dacey, Jr., OFS
