“And a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years, who [had spent her whole livelihood on doctors and] was unable to be cured by anyone, came up behind him and touched the tassel on his cloak. Immediately her bleeding stopped.” Luke 8:43-44
Do you sometimes feel like the hemorrhaging woman? Have you been afflicted with uncontrollable loss? Has one trial after another poured out upon you and you feel that you cannot go on? Has a relationship in your life drained the life out of you?
How often do you feel overwhelmed with affliction and pain, leaving you depleted of life? Do you think this is what God wants in your life?
Did the ‘hemorrhaging woman’ touch Jesus’ tassel on His cloak out of lack of options or did she touch it because she believed in Jesus and his ability to heal? In Luke, chapter 8, Jesus tells us that it was her FAITH that saved her. Her FAITH! She didn’t touch it out of ‘lack of options,’ she knew He could heal her if she just touched His clothing. She didn’t have to go as far as touching Him, but just His clothing. That is quite a demonstration of belief in Jesus’ power to heal.
There have been many times I have felt just like the hemorrhaging woman. The only difference is, I was not suffering from a physical bleeding. I was suffering from a hemorrhaging spirit. As I dig deeper within, with the help of the Holy Spirit, I am uncovering so much about my past that has affected my present. I see the results of that lack of healing, perhaps the lack of faith at the time. Things that I suffer from and have suffered from, as a much older adult, are continued outpouring, bleeding of the wounds inflicted from my childhood and early adulthood. As my faith has become stronger and I receive the Sacraments on a regular basis, my open wounds are being revealed to me and I can feel the healing, the bleeding slowing down. Is it ironic or is it my FAITH in Jesus’ healing? Prior to five years ago, my relationship with Jesus was very much on the surface. Today, my relationship with Him is deeper and I know the power of that relationship with Him. I know the healing power of the Eucharist and reconciliation. I know the power of prayer. I know because I have had a personal encounter with it. Friends, Jesus’ healing power is real and it is right before our eyes in prayer, a relationship with Him and in the Sacraments.
Why is it hard for us to see it, to believe it? Is it our culture, the world that tells us it’s not real? Are we just too busy to stop and see it, to stop and take part in quiet time with Jesus, to go to Mass and go to confession?
He is waiting for each of you, right there on the altar. Come to Him in the Sacraments and be healed. Stop your spirit from bleeding by touching the cloak of Jesus in the Eucharist and reconciliation. Believe in the healing power of the Son of God and stop hemorrhaging.
Women Who Walk By Faith 
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