Faith is not only the experience of seeking and finding God, but it is also the certainty that we are sought and loved by Him ...
Today's Gospel story is built on the suffering of a poor woman who for 18 years had been hostage to an illness that prevented her from living a normal life. In this woman's pain we can see all those events that affect our lives and make us live closed in on ourselves.
Sometimes it’s so complicated for us to realize how certain events have closed us off that we cannot even ask for help, pray, or wish for real change.
In fact, the striking thing is that it wasn’t this woman who sought or saw Jesus first, but it was Jesus who saw her and took the initiative:
It seems that today's Gospel wants to reassure us that faith is not only the experience of seeking and finding God, but it is also the certainty that we are sought and loved by Him, even before we realize it or have the strength to make choices.
In fact, the foundation of faith does not lie in our own capacity, but in Christ’s capacity to liberate the people He encounters. And this capacity is so clear in Him that even when challenged because of the very compassion he exercised toward this woman on the Sabbath day of rest, He defends her with all His might:
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Father Luigi Maria Epicoco is a priest of the Aquila Diocese and teaches Philosophy at the Pontifical Lateran University and at the ISSR ‘Fides et ratio,’ Aquila. He dedicates himself to preaching, especially for the formation of laity and religious, giving conferences, retreats and days of recollection. He has authored numerous books and articles. Since 2021, he has served as the Ecclesiastical Assistant in the Vatican Dicastery for Communication and columnist for the Vatican’s daily newspaper L’Osservatore Romano.
