God Offers Life: Reflection for the 13th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B

In 1980, the movie Fame hit theaters. The movie follows the journey of a group of students who journey through a prestigious high school journey in New York from their auditions to freshman year to senior graduation. That same year, the late Irene Cara would release an original song of the same name. Cara would sing in the song, “I'm gonna live forever. I'm gonna learn how to fly.” Sadly, we are not going to live forever. However, God does something profound for every human being.

In the first reading, we are reminded “God did not make death, nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living. For he fashioned all things that they might have being…” (Wisdom 1:13-14a). The author continues, “For God formed man to be imperishable; the image of his own nature he made him.” God is life and he made it to be good.

Unfortunately, we live in a culture of death. The lives of unborn children are being murdered daily despite the Dobbs decision in 2022. We can rejoice in the fact that the end of abortion began with this paramount ruling. The reason death exists is because sin came into the world thanks to the influence of Satan. Thankfully, the Gospel or “Good News” gives us a distinct look into the Kingdom of Heaven that also gives us life, mercy, and love.

In the account of Mark chosen for this Sunday, we hear of two people who persevere in seeking the healing power of Jesus. First, Jarius’s daughter and the woman suffering from hemorrhages both were at the point of death.

When the woman with the hemorrhages was in the crowd following Jesus, she made her way to him to the point of breaking through them to get closer as she wanted to touch him, but she wound up touching his cloak as an act of faith. Jesus acknowledges the fact that her faith saved her and was healed.

Next, the daughter of Jarius has died. Jesus goes and visits the parents. Upon entering, Jesus was ridiculed by the crowd and those who were of religious authority. Yet, Jesus maintained his faith. He touched the girl asleep and commanded her to awaken. The girl was brought back to life. The crowd was astonished at the scene.

St. Paul reminds us, “Our Savior Jesus Christ destroyed death

and brought life to light through the Gospel.” (2 Timothy 1:10). God wants to revive our dead faith. He offers it through the sacraments. Seek it now. Go to confession. Kneel, stand, and sit before the Blessed Sacrament. Receive him faithfully in the banquet of the lamb. He shares life through his profound love. He conquered death so we can be free from death’s sting.

In the words of Catherin Hadro when she anchored EWTN’s Pro-Life Weekly, “Life is a gift. Your life is a gift.”

Let us be thankful that we have life through Christ who is the author of all the living. Through Christ, we can live forever.