The woman with the hemorrhage, in today's Gospel, is a character worth studying. She must surely have either been a very devout Jew or an atheist - that's until she met Jesus. But more than the person of Jesus, it is the woman's faith that intrigues me. To have such a faith - which subsequently leads her to touch Jesus' cloak - and then also have the courage (or fear) to acknowledge it before the crowd.... not knowing what the reaction of Jesus would be. What would the crowd say? How would they react? Her whole focus was to 'just touch His cloak'. She never would have imagined that Jesus would realise it. What a shock she must have received when Jesus turned around looking for the person who touched his cloak. But then when Jesus fails to identify the person, she throws herself before Him. Again she surrenders!
Another strange idea that comes to my mind: A strong faith can 'extract' graces! Well, Jesus never granted her the grace of healing. She 'got' it from His abundance, on the strength of her faith. It is like the idea of the ancient Indians who performed the religious rituals, convinced that the result lay in the performance and had nothing much to do with the Divine one offering the grace.
Anyway, hats off to this simple but strong woman.
Another strange idea that comes to my mind: A strong faith can 'extract' graces! Well, Jesus never granted her the grace of healing. She 'got' it from His abundance, on the strength of her faith. It is like the idea of the ancient Indians who performed the religious rituals, convinced that the result lay in the performance and had nothing much to do with the Divine one offering the grace.
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