The stories of Gospel reading for today are miracle stories. They are also faith stories. Jairus, a synagogue official, asks Jesus to lay his hands on her daughter, who was at the point of death, so that she may get well and live. On their way to the daughter of Jairus, a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years told herself, “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.” And she was cured. And so did the daughter of Jairus get well and live.

“Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace!”

Faith heals. But the faith that heals is not the faith that is left to chance — like saying, “I will pray, bahala na kung magkakatotoo yung hinihingi ko.” The faith that heals is one that begins in the heart, in one’s inner conviction that comes from faith in the Lord. Sometimes, when we say we believe in God, in Jesus, there remains that tiny bit of doubt in us that says, “Is God really listening? Is he really there? Will he really give me what I am asking for?”

Today, let us reflect on the interior conviction of faith that the woman with affliction had. She knew that God would heal her “if she but touched our Lord’s clothes.” Let us reflect on our own interior conviction, our own faith, that our Lord is always listening to our hearts, to our needs, to our lives — if we but touch His heart and the people this heart loves dearly.

Let us pray for this kind of faith — that we may know the Lord and His will for our lives.