22nd Wednesday - Healing Peter's Mother-in-Law

 

 The Gospel today tells us--- how at sunset people began to bring many sick people to Jesus for Him to cure them. It was most likely a Sabbath day, because the Sabbath observance was scrupulously enforced by the scribes and Pharisees and would have ended at sunset. There were many sick people.

St. Mark states the whole city was gathered together about the door. St. Luke tells how Jesus laid hands on each one. He looks carefully at them and gives each one his full attention, because for Him each person is unique.

Everybody is always received well by Jesus, and is treated by Him with incomparable dignity that the human person always deserves. In particular we can this with the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law, who was afflicted with a severe fever. Our Lord must have come up to her bed, stood over her and then made the fever immediately go away.

How many of us wish that when we were sick, Jesus would come to us, stand at our bedside and make our fever go away. Jesus still does this today. We can see this in the life of St. Therese of Lisieux. When she was a child and very sick with a fever, she turned and looked at a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She said that Mary smiled at her and Therese was immediately healed. Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Jesus healed St. Therese at her bed side.

When we are sick, there is nothing wrong with asking Jesus to heal us. Jesus always gives us His personal and full attention, especially if we are sick and suffering.

I believe Jesus wants to do heal us in whatever ways we need to be healed, but in particular, He wants us to come to Him through His Mother Mary, so that we can love Her and honor Her as He desires.

Today, may we remember that Jesus personally cares about each of us and desires us to turn to Him for help. And may we be like the apostles and intercede for those who are sick and suffering.