Today we celebrate the feast of Saint Maria Goretti. I invite all parents and grandparents to pass on to young people the priceless value of purity, just as she taught us through her radiant witness, lived even to the point of martyrdom.
Gospel according to Matthew 9:18-26
Today’s Gospel gives us great hope: when Jesus enters our life, nothing is lost. A father kneels before Him with a heart broken by the death of his daughter, while a woman, after twelve years of suffering and waiting, finds the courage to touch the hem of His cloak. Two different stories, united by the same certainty: entrusting ourselves to Jesus changes life. How many times we too feel like that woman, tired of fighting, wounded by trials that seem never-ending. Or like that father, with a heart weighed down by situations that seem to have no way out. And yet Jesus does not stop before pain, He does not let Himself be defeated by death, and He is not discouraged by our weaknesses. He comes close to us, looks at us with infinite love, and invites us to trust. His words still echo in our hearts today: “Take heart, daughter; your faith has saved you.” It is an invitation addressed to each one of us. Let us not allow fear, discouragement, or the judgment of others to extinguish our hope. Even when everything seems lost, Jesus continues to take by the hand those who entrust themselves to Him and raises them up to a new life. Today, let us entrust to the Lord everything in our hearts that seems “dead”: a broken dream, a wounded relationship, a trial, an illness, a disappointment, or a faith that has grown weak. Let us allow Jesus to take us by the hand, because His love has the power to transform tears into joy, fear into peace, and death into life.
- Rosanna Dora De Lucia
