Romans 8:12-17
Psalm 68:2 & 4, 6-7AB, 20-21
Luke 13:10-17
Summary
Jesus cures a woman from her bodily infirmities while Paul re-
minds us we are daughters and sons of God !
Reflection
In today's gospel, Jesus cures a woman of her crippled body.
She does not ask him for a cure, he sees her, he cures her. It is
an act of spontaneous, generous love. She is free.
In a similar manner God's loving gift of faith frees us from our
infirmities.
All of us are self-centered. We necessarily see things from our perspec-
tive. We are at the center of our lives, tending to see everything in rela-
tion to ourselves- If a tax is passed, we think "how does it affect me?" If
a tornado strikes a town where my sister lives, my first thought is, "is she
safe?" If a child dies in Africa, it is a sad statistic. If my child dies, it is a
tragedy. Even at Mass we listen to the prayers of the faithful to note a
sick friend. And we Catholics used to talk regularly about "saving one's
soul." We are self-centered. We are the hero of our own lives.
This tendency can be stifling. At a dark time in my life I became ob-
sessed with my feelings, my wants, my concerns. I almost died. It was
God's loving grace that gradually shifted my focus from ME to God. Our
faith in Christ imbues us with the fact that God is not only the center of
the universe. He is the center of our lives as well. It is His will , not ours
in which truth and joy reside. It is this shift from self to God that breaks
the shackles of self-absorption which constricts us. We are freed to be
daughters and sons of God in Whose image we are made.