Thursday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
July 4, 2024
Today’s Readings:
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/070424.cfm
… people brought to Jesus a paralytic lying on a stretcher.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic,
“Courage, child, your sins are forgiven.”
This passage describes a situation found in just a few of Jesus’s miracles. The miracle occurs because of the intervention of others, not the one in need. When Jesus sees the faith of those who carried this young man, his Infinite Mercy was moved.
It seems that perhaps the afflicted person had lost hope. It was his friends who hoped – his friends who carried him. What a gift it is to have friends who will stand by you in life’s sometimes crippling circumstances. What a blessing to have companions who see your salvation when you have lost the vision!
Acting on the faith of these steadfast friends, Jesus tells the paralytic to reach down into his soul and recover the courage that will make him whole.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
We pray to be faithful friends like the ones described in this passage. We pray in gratitude for those who are such friends to us.
Thought:
There is nothing on earth
St. Thomas Aquinas
more to be prized
than true friendship.
Music: I Will Carry You – Sean Clive
Lavish Mercy 
Yes! Friends are wonderful blessings. Our Faith filled friends often give us the courage we lack in trying times. A friend’s presence is uplifting. Love the song. Thanks Renee. Kris
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Thank you so much for this beautiful reflection on courage and friendship. I never saw this story from the perspective of friendship, but it certainly makes sense. Thank you for your friendship! ❤️🙏
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Thank you so much for this beautiful reflection on courage and friendship. I never saw this story from the perspective of friendship, but it certainly makes sense. Thank you for your friendship! ❤️🙏
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I feel very blessed to have you for a friend, Lucille. ❤️🙏
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