“If I touch even his garments, I shall be made well.” – Mark 5:28
There was much anticipation as to how things were going to be once churches reopened for private prayer, as this was the first step to opening worship places after a long period of absence. In our parish, we wondered how many people would turn up, considering many factors including health and how comfortable parishioners would feel regarding returning to church.
The doors opened at eleven o’clock on a rainy Tuesday morning. There wasn’t a big queue like we had previously seen in shops and restaurants – deep inside I wished it had been like that. But there were two ladies waiting on the other side of the door. Once they entered the church their first words were “I can’t believe we are finally back home.” Throughout the week, many people attended for their private prayer, sitting or kneeling before the Blessed Sacrament. Parishioners have been very emotional about their return to Church, some even with tears in their eyes.
Being able to witness these moments has been indeed a very humbling experience. As people came in, the image of the woman with the haemorrhage that was healed by Jesus came to mind. How much Faith must this woman have had to think that by touching Jesus’ cloth she would be healed? Like her, I noticed how parishioners were coming back to church, longing for their encounter with Jesus, reaching out for Him despite the present circumstances. I thought of all those people who are suffering at this time not only from Coronavirus but from other sicknesses, problems, hunger, injustices, loneliness.
Despite the challenging times we are living at the moment, God is always with us. He recognises each one of us and knows us by our name. Even during moments in which we might feel our hope is going down, discouraged or anxious, our faith has kept us going on. Like the moment when Jesus healed the woman, he wants us to reach Him, to have faith in his power to transform us.
May we turn today to our Father and ask Him to touch our hearts, to restore whatever situation we are struggling with in our lives and to heal our world not only from this pandemic but from all the social injustices.