Responsorial Psalm
Extol you, O Lord, for you have rescued me;
my enemies will not gloat over me.
O Lord, you have brought me up from the grave,
you gave me life when I was going to the pit.
Sing to the Lord, O you his saints,
give thanks and praise to his holy name.
For his anger lasts but a little while,
and his kindness all through life.
Weeping may tarry for the night,
but rejoicing comes with the dawn.
Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me;
O Lord, be my protector."
But now, you have turned my mourning into rejoicing;
you have taken off my sackcloth
and wrapped me in the garments of gladness.
And so my soul, no longer silent,
now sings praise without ceasing.
O Lord my God, forever will I give you thanks.
2nd. READING (2Cor 8,7-9.13-15)
You excel in everything: in the gifts of faith, speech and knowledge; you feel concern
for every cause and, besides, you are first in my heart. Excel also in this generous
service. This is not a command; I make known to you the determination of others to
check the sincerity of your fraternal concern. You know well the generosity of Christ
Jesus, our Lord. Although he was rich, he made himself poor to make you rich through
his poverty. I do not mean that others should be at ease and you burdened. Strive for
equality; at present give from your abundance what they are short of, and in some way
they also will give from their abundance what you lack. Then you will be equal and
what Scripture says shall come true: To the one who had much, nothing was in excess;
to the one who had little, nothing was lacking.
Gospel
Jesus then crossed to the other side of the lake and while he was still on the shore, a
large crowd gathered around him. Jairus, an official of the synagogue, came up and
seeing Jesus, threw himself at his feet and asked him earnestly, "My little daughter is
at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her so that she may get well and
live." Jesus went with him and many people followed, pressing from every side.
Among the crowd was a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years. She
had suffered a lot at the hands of many doctors and had spent everything she had, but
instead of getting better, she was worse. Since she had heard about Jesus, this woman
came up behind him and touched his cloak thinking, "If I just touch his clothing, I
shall get well." Her flow of blood dried up at once, and she felt in her body that she
was healed of her complaint. But Jesus was conscious that healing power had gone out
from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"
His disciples answered, "You see how the people are crowding around you. Why do
you ask who touched you?" But he kept looking around to see who had done it. Then
the woman, aware of what had happened, came forward trembling and afraid. She
knelt before him and told him the whole truth. Then Jesus said to her, "Daughter, your
faith has saved you; go in peace and be free of this illness." While Jesus was still
speaking, some people arrived from the official's house to inform him, "Your daughter
is dead. Why trouble the Master any further?" But Jesus ignored what they said and
told the official, "Do not fear, just believe." And he allowed no one to follow him
except Peter, James and John, the brother of James. When they arrived at the house,
Jesus saw a great commotion with people weeping and wailing loudly. Jesus entered
and said to them, "Why all this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but
asleep." They laughed at him. But Jesus sent them outside and went with the child's
father and mother and his companions into the room where the child lay. Taking her
by the hand, he said to her, "Talitha kumi!" which means: "Little girl, get up!” The girl
got up at once and began to walk around. (She was twelve years old.) The parents were
astonished, greatly astonished. Jesus strictly ordered them not to let anyone know
about it, and told them to give her something to eat.
