Gospel
MK 5:21-43
When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea. One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward. Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying, “My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live.” He went off with him, and a large crowd followed him and pressed upon him.

There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years.  She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors and had spent all that she had. Yet she was not helped but only grew worse. She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak. She said, “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.” Immediately her flow of blood dried up. She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who has touched my clothes?”  But his disciples said to Jesus, “You see how the crowd is pressing upon you, and yet you ask, ‘Who touched me?’”  And he looked around to see who had done it.  The woman, realizing what had happened to her, approached in fear and trembling.  She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you.  Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.”

While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official’s house arrived and said, “Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?”  Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official, he caught sight of a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. So he went in and said to them, “Why this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep.” And they ridiculed him. Then he put them all out. He took along the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and entered the room where the child was. He took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise!” The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around. At that they were utterly astounded. He gave strict orders that no one should know this and said that she should be given something to eat.
Christ always did that, didn't he?  He said, “Give her something to eat.”  Twice in his post resurrection experiences, he said, “Give me something to eat.”  I think the reason is because he wanted the people to know that the little girl wasn’t a ghost of some sort.  You know how it is, you give a ghost something to eat and the food falls on the floor. 
 
This Gospel story is a familiar story to all of us.  It is a beautiful story.  Jesus is called because a child is dying.  We have all experienced in our lives, and in our families that fear of a child who is dying, if not in our direct family, in our extended family. There is no greater crisis than that.  On the way, Jesus is besieged with people who believe that he is the Messiah.  You can all imagine that poor woman who touches his garment and is cured.  He feels power going out to her.  She approaches in fear and is trembling, and he said, “Your faith has saved you,’’ and this was after she had been sick for 12 years.  Of course, he then heals the girl.  I’m not sure if she was in fact dead and he brought her back to life.  In fact, Jesus said, “She’s not dead.”  It is a familiar story not so much because we remember it in the Bible, but because we have lived this story.  All of us are very familiar with sickness and death.  Everybody has worries problems, concerns, and crosses to bear.  Everybody has or will have health problems.  There is always some threat to our peace of mind.  It’s part of life.  In fact, it is life. 
 
You remember an actress named Ann Jillian.  What I remember the most about her, besides that she is beautiful and I do remember that but  I also remember that she married a Chicago cop that she knew growing up in Chicago.  In 1985, Ann Jillian was 35 years old and she was at the height of her acting career.  While exercising, she felt a lump in her breast and she knew she had a serious problem.  At the time, I assume, she lived in or near Hollywood, and she went to the doctor.  In route, she stopped at a church that she had been worshiping at for a number of years.  Over the entrance of this church, there was a saying, a poem, by St. Francis de Sales and she had never seen it before.  On this particular day she stopped before she entered the church and she read this.  It said,
 
 
She went into the church, knelt before the Blessed Sacrament, and prayed.  Later, she said that suddenly she was overcome with a radiant trust in God, and peace of mind.  A trust in God and a peace of mind that Ann Jillian has to this very day. 
 
About 5 years ago, perhaps 6 or 7, I told this story.  Remember there was a movie, The Ann Jillian Story.  Some of you might have seen it.  I told this story and the homily was put on the parish website, on the internet.  About two months later, I got an email from Ann Jillian saying, “Thank you.”  In fact, she has now dedicated her life in the battle to fight breast cancer.  She has been on a speaking tour and she gives of her time and energy to bring awareness to this disease.  As you know, we have made great progress in fighting this disease.  Of course, I was delighted to get an email from Ann Jillian.  She probably went to our parish website and saw the picture of me there and in spite of that, she sent me an email.
 
Jesus said to Ann Jillian and Jesus says to you and me, “Do not be afraid.  Just have faith.”  I think priests may not be experts in many areas, but we are experts in this area of health and fear.  Just this past week, on Wednesday, I went to Albuquerque to the Loveless Women’s Health Center to anoint a young woman in her 30’s, who was there for her second surgery for breast cancer.  She asked me the question I have been asked many times.  She looked at me and said, “Why me?” and I never answer.  I did say, “I don’t know, but let’s pray.” 
 
Every time I hear that question, I remember someone else, Fr. Ray Hannigan.  Fr. Ray spent some time with us here and I’m going to see him next month.  When he was 75, Ray had a very serious heart problem.  In fact, he ended up having a quadruple bypass and a heart valve repaired.  Before the surgery, he told me, “John, I’m ready.  Whatever.  If I don’t survive this, it’s ok. I’ve had a good life. I’ve had several good lives.”  You know, Ray was married and had 7 kids and 21 grandkids.  He became a priest years later.  He said, “The question I’ve been asking myself is not why me, but why not me?”  He said, “As a matter of fact, before I received the news of my problem, every time I had a birthday, I’d say, ‘Hmm, not yet’.”  He said, “I wore this heart out.  It’s been broke a few times too.” 
 
I think that is the better question, “Why not me?”  Or even a better question is, “When me?”  That is the reality of life.
 
I would like to read to you a Reflection.  I don’t know if some of you remember it.  It was in a publication called my Daily Bread.  It would come out monthly and Fr. Anthony Paone, a Jesuit priest, published it.  I’m not sure if he’s still publishing.  I’m not sure if he’s still alive.  What Fr. Paone would do is mediate on a particular subject and then he would write a prayer as if Jesus was speaking to him.  He didn’t claim that Jesus was speaking to him, but I think you’ll agree, it’s something like Jesus would say.  Let me read this reflection. 
 
 
Last Thursday we had a celebration here for couples that were married 50 years or more.  We had 30 couples.  I reckon there were more than 1500 years of marriage.  There’s one, two, three, four, there’s John and St. Barbara Buchen.  You all know John Buchen?  Then you know why I call her St. Barbara.  The Porto’s have been married 62 years.  The couple who has been married the longest in the parish is the Elliot’s, Dan and Marcelle.  They have been married 64 years.  So, it was a day of reflection as they thought about their lives.  I said this, “Fifty plus years ago you promised to be good to each other in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. Isn’t it true that your love for each other grew more in the sickness and in the bad times than in the good times?  They were nodding.  Isn’t it true?  It is the trials and tribulations in life that make us holy.  It’s not the good times.
 
 I’m going to read to you about a young man who died in battle of the Civil War.  He died at the battle of Gettysburg in 1863 and this was found on his body. 
 
 
He knew what St. Francis de Sales knew. 
He knew what those married couples knew. 
He knew what Ann Jillian knew. 

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