Monday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time, July 6, 2026

Gospel

Matthew 9:18-26

While Jesus was speaking, an official came forward,

knelt down before him, and said,

“My daughter has just died.

But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live.”

Jesus rose and followed him, and so did his disciples.

A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him

and touched the tassel on his cloak.

She said to herself, “If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured.”

Jesus turned around and saw her, and said,

“Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you.”

And from that hour the woman was cured.

When Jesus arrived at the official’s house

and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion,

he said, “Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping.”

And they ridiculed him.

When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by the hand,

and the little girl arose.

And news of this spread throughout all that land.

Reflection

Suffering is a fact of life. I remember hearing the phrase, "To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering", from Nietzsche. Suffering is something that comes in different forms and at different times, but every person knows what it feels like to carry a burden that seems too heavy to bear. One of the hardest realities to accept is why God allows suffering. He does not delight in our pain, but He knows it can bring forth a greater good that we may not yet be able to see.

I think many of us can relate, in some way, to both people in today's Gospel because we know what it means to hurt. The official had just lost his little girl and the woman had endured twelve long years of physical suffering. I can only imagine how hopeless, exhausted, and alone they must have felt. Yet despite everything they were facing, they both turned to Jesus. The official believed that even death was not beyond His power. The woman believed that even the smallest touch of His cloak would be enough to heal her. Although their circumstances were desperate, their faith was greater than their despair. This makes me question, when we feel powerless and hopeless who do we turn to, and what does that reveal about where we place our hope?