Healing Presence

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to reflect on the experience of healing and connection that we have when we join the community in the Presence of God.

Present in Faith

The Reading from the First Book of Kings presents the Dedication of the Temple.

 

[8:2] “The seventh month” (“Ethanim” in the Canaanite calendar) corresponded to late September/early October. The great festival at that time of year is the feast of Booths, or Succoth/Sukkoth (see Lv 23:33–43; Dt 16:13–15). The feast was important enough to warrant holding the dedication ceremony either a month before or eleven months after the Temple was completed in the eighth month (6:38).

* [8:6–9] The transfer of the ark of the covenant into the newly constructed Temple building, God’s act of possession (8:10–13), and Solomon’s dedicatory prayer and sacrifices constituted the Temple’s solemn dedication and made of it the place of God’s presence in the midst of Israel for which David had hoped (2 Sm 6:12–15; 7:1–3). Later God expresses approval of the Temple with an oracle (1 Kgs 9:3–9).

* [8:12–13] This brief poem is rich in layered meanings. The “dark cloud” in which the Lord intends to dwell refers not only to the cloud that filled the Temple (v. 10) but to the darkness of the windowless holy of holies and to the mystery of the God enthroned invisibly upon the cherubim as well. Solomon calls the Temple he offers God a firm base, using terminology similar to that used for God’s firm establishment of Solomon’s own kingdom (2:12, 46). Finally, Solomon intends this as a place for God to yashab, but the Hebrew word yashab can mean “to dwell” or “to sit.” In other words, the Temple can be understood both as a place where God resides and as the earthly foundation of God’s heavenly throne. The double meaning allows an understanding of the divine presence as both transcendent and graciously immanent. See Solomon’s sentiments in 8:27, and the frequent reference in 8:30–52 to God’s hearing in heaven prayers that were offered in or toward the Temple. (1 Kings, CHAPTER 8 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 132 tells how the Ark of the Covenant was brought to Jerusalem.

* [Psalm 132] A song for a liturgical ceremony in which the ark, the throne of Israel’s God, was carried in procession to the Temple. The singer asks that David’s care for the proper housing of the ark be regarded with favor (Ps 132:1–5), and tells how it was brought to Jerusalem (Ps 132:6–10). There follows God’s promise of favor to the Davidic dynasty (Ps 132:11–12) and to Zion (Ps 132:13–17). The transfer of the ark to the tent in Jerusalem is described in 2 Sm 6. (Psalms, PSALM 132 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of Mark presents Jesus Healings at Gennesaret.

r. [6:53–56] Mt 14:34–36.

s. [6:56] 5:27–28; Acts 5:15. (Mark, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB, n.d.)

Mary Lee Brock comments that the reading from 1 Kings culminates with the glory of the Lord filling the temple. The dark cloud symbolizes the powerful and mysterious presence of God.

As I pray with today’s readings, images from my attending liturgies during my travels come to mind. A church built of concrete blocks outside of Cancun City; I felt the presence of God. The church in Brooklyn, where my parents were married before moving to the Midwest, I felt the presence of God. An elaborate, beautiful Cathedral; I felt the presence of God. An unfamiliar suburban parish in my own town; I felt the presence of God.

To deepen my prayer, I reflect upon these questions: Where do I find God in my daily life? What distracts me from being fully present to community members? What healing do I need to seek? How can I support others seeking healing? Do I have the faith to trust that touching the tassel on the cloak of Jesus is enough?

We hear in Psalms: “May your priests be clothed with justice; let your faithful ones shout merrily for joy.” (Brock, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “Christ's wounds bring healing and life,” by Ambrose of Milan, 339-397 A.D.

"The Lord of hosts was not signaling weakness as he gave sight to the blind, made the crooked to stand upright, raised the dead to life (Matthew 11:5), anticipated the effects of medicine at our prayers, and cured those who sought after him. Those who merely touched the fringe of his robe were healed (Mark 6:56). Surely you did not think it was some divine weakness, you speculators, when you saw him wounded. Indeed there were wounds that pierced his body (Matthew 27:35; Mark 15:24; Luke 23:33; John 19:18, 31-37), but they did not demonstrate weakness but strength. For from these wounds flowed life to all, from the One who was the life of all." (excerpt from ON THE CHRISTIAN FAITH 4.5.54-55.16) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on 1 Kings 8:1-7, 9-13 comments that Jesus filled his disciples with his own Holy Spirit (Acts 2). He made each one of them a dwelling place of God, fulfilling in the most personal way possible God’s desire to dwell with his people. He has made each of us a “living stone” that is built together into an even more beautiful dwelling place for God—the body of Christ in his Church (1 Peter 2:4-5)!

Never forget that you carry God’s presence within you! Wherever you go, you bring his life. When you enter a tense situation at work, you can bring God’s peace. When you comfort a grieving friend, you can bring hope. When you reach out to an estranged family member, you can bring healing. In every situation, you can bring the joy of knowing that God is near. So keep your eyes open for ways the Lord might manifest his presence and his glory in you as his dwelling place!

“Lord God, teach me how to live as a temple of your Holy Spirit.” (Meditation on 1 Kings 8:1-7, 9-13, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments that in 1 Kings the Temple in Jerusalem is dedicated as a “House for God”. Solomon built the Temple and dedicated it and the Presence of God is in the Holy of Holies. In Mark, the people who are sick and need Jesus' help try to touch His tassel. Friar Jude  reminds us that we should see God as a loving parent always willing to give us what we need even if that is not what we want.

Father Richard Rohr, OFM, reflects on God’s tenderness towards us, even when we make decisions that harm ourselves or others. This safe and protective God, the one who does not reject humanity, is illustrated in a most tender way: God is presented as a divine seamstress: “God sewed together clothes for them out of the skins of animals and they put them on” (Genesis 3:21).

Surely this is a promise from a protective and nurturing God who takes away their shame and self-loathing. That will become the momentum-building story of the whole Bible, which gradually undoes the common history of fearsome and threatening deities…

Human love does the same thing. When someone else loves us, they give us not just themselves, but for some reason, they give us back our own self—now a truer and better self. This dance between the Lover and the beloved is the psychology of the whole Bible.

Once humans are outside of union—symbolized by the garden—the whole pattern of fear, hatred, violence, and envy begins. Much of the rest of the Bible will reveal the conflicts of living outside the garden—in other words, in the dualistic mind of disunion—and yet with the constant invitation back into union. (Rohr, n.d.)

We experience the Spirit in the “thin places” that bring us closer to Divine Presence and arouse our commitment to being a healing influence in our environment.

References

Brock, M. L. (n.d.). Daily Reflection. Creighton Online Ministries: Home. Retrieved February 9, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-february-9-2026 

Mark, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved February 9, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/6?53 

Meditation on 1 Kings 8:1-7, 9-13. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved February 9, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/02/09/1496783/ 

1 Kings, CHAPTER 8 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved February 9, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1kings/8?1 

Psalms, PSALM 132 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved February 9, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/132?6 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved February 9, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/god-tends-to-our-wounds/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Many Were Made Well. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved February 9, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/ 

Love without Limit

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to contemplate the extent of the action we would take to demonstrate the Love, compassion, and mercy of God to the people in our environment.

Celebrate Family

 

The Reading from The Letter of Paul to the Romans declares his Love for Israel.

* [9:1–5] The apostle speaks in strong terms of the depth of his grief over the unbelief of his own people. He would willingly undergo a curse himself for the sake of their coming to the knowledge of Christ (Rom 9:3; cf. Lv 27:28–29). His love for them derives from God’s continuing choice of them and from the spiritual benefits that God bestows on them and through them on all of humanity (Rom 9:4–5).

* [9:5] Some editors punctuate this verse differently and prefer the translation, “Of whom is Christ according to the flesh, who is God over all.” However, Paul’s point is that God who is over all aimed to use Israel, which had been entrusted with every privilege, in outreach to the entire world through the Messiah. (Romans, CHAPTER 9 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 147 exhorts the holy city as the place of disclosure for God’s word.

* [Psalm 147] The hymn is divided into three sections by the calls to praise in Ps 147:1, 7, 12. The first section praises the powerful creator who restores exiled Judah (Ps 147:1–6); the second section, the creator who provides food to animals and human beings; the third and climactic section exhorts the holy city to recognize it has been re-created and made the place of disclosure for God’s word, a word as life-giving as water. (Psalms, PSALM 147 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus Heals the Man with Dropsy on the Sabbath.

* [14:1–6] See note on Lk 13:10–17.

* [14:2] Dropsy: an abnormal swelling of the body because of the retention and accumulation of fluid.

* [14:5] Your son or ox: this is the reading of many of the oldest and most important New Testament manuscripts. Because of the strange collocation of son and ox, some copyists have altered it to “your ass or ox,” on the model of the saying in Lk 13:15. (Luke, CHAPTER 14 | USCCB, n.d.)

Tamora Whitney comments that sometimes it’s more important to do the right thing than to just follow the rules.

Our lives are different now, and a lot of businesses are open every day that are not in the emergency business, but even in Jesus’ time, people knew that some things just need to be done and can’t wait. On the Sabbath, the farmers still feed and water their animals, and they take the animals out of their yokes. Animals would not be denied their exercise and food on the Sabbath. (Whitney, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “The law does not forbid mercy on the Sabbath,” by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD).

"As they were silent from ill will, Christ refutes their unrelenting shamelessness by the convincing arguments that he uses. 'Whose son of you,' he says, 'or whose ox shall fall into a pit, and he will not immediately draw him out on the sabbath day?' If the law forbids showing mercy on the sabbath, why do you take compassion on that which has fallen into the pit?... The God of all does not cease to be kind. He is good and loving to people."(excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 101) (Schwager, n.d.) 

The Word Among Us Meditation on Romans 9:1-5 comments that Paul knew what his Jewish kin were missing—a life-changing encounter with Christ. His fellow Pharisees were devout, God-fearing men and women. They loved God and treasured his word. They devoted themselves to helping their people follow the Law of Moses. But so many of them just couldn’t see how Jesus was the fulfillment of all their hopes and dreams.

Like Paul, we, too, may feel separated from loved ones who don’t share our faith. We long for them to know how Jesus can change their lives. We want them to know how he can help them overcome sin and fill them with hope.

We’ll never know why some people accept Jesus while others don’t. We’ll never know why some of the people we love keep Christ at a distance. But Paul never gave up sharing his faith, and neither should you. Keep praying for your loved ones and keep sharing with them. And most of all, keep loving them!

“Jesus, give me the courage and compassion of St. Paul.” (Meditation on Romans 9:1-5, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler notes how God’s mercy is incredible as Paul admits to a broken heart rooted in the decision of people to reject Jesus. Paul’s example of the essence of True Love that puts others ahead of self, includes accepting the torment of hell for the salvation of another. Faith is about how we can love and extend  “You first” to our worst enemy. In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus heals a man with edema and critiques the rule that it is lawful to cure on the Sabbath only when a person is at the point of death. Jesus cites care of animals on the Sabbath. Friar Jude comments that we make a day of service on Sunday to bring a bit of God’s love to others.

Fr. Mike Schmitz focuses on the powerful theme that connects all of our readings today- the reality of life beyond death. In the story of the martyrdom of the seven brothers in 2 Macabees, we see how the brothers and their mother fiercely reject the temptation to violate God's law, and boldly hold onto their hope in the resurrection of the dead. Our readings from Wisdom also remind us that death is not the end, because we know that eternal life is waiting for us beyond death. Today's readings are 2 Maccabees 7, Wisdom 3-4, and Proverbs 24:27-29.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, honors the significance of “thin times” that draw us nearer to the threshold between this realm and the next as he asks notes that what became All Saints Day and All Souls Day (November 1–2) was already called “thin times” by the ancient Celts (as were February 1–2: St. Bridget’s Day and Candlemas Day, when candles were blessed and lit). The veil between this world and the next world was considered most “thin” and easily traversed during these times.

Thin Place

Living in the communion of saints means that we can take ourselves very seriously (we are part of a Great Whole) and not take ourselves too seriously at all (we are just a part of the Great Whole) at the very same time. I hope this frees us from any unnecessary individual guilt—and, more importantly, frees us to be full “partners in God’s triumphant parade” through time and history (2 Corinthians 2:14). We are in on the deal and, yes, the really Big Deal. We are all a very small part of a very Big Thing! (Rohr, n.d.)

We seek the Wisdom of the Spirit as we wrestle with our priorities and the tension that exists with our Baptismal Anointing as priest, prophet, and leader.

References

Luke, CHAPTER 14 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved October 31, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/14?1 

Meditation on Romans 9:1-5. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved October 31, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/10/31/1418480/ 

Psalms, PSALM 147 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved October 31, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/147?12 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Fullness of Time. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved October 31, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/fullness-of-time/ 

Romans, CHAPTER 9 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved October 31, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/romans/9?1 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). They Were Watching Jesus. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved October 31, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/ 

Whitney, T. (n.d.). Daily Reflection. Creighton Online Ministries: Home. Retrieved October 31, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-october-31-2025