Daily Gospel Reflection for March 12, 2024

Join us as we reflect, ponder, and pray together inspired by today's Gospel.

Today's Gospel: John 5:1-16

It struck me that the man Jesus healed waited for thirty-eight years. That’s a long time to suffer. St. Monica prayed patiently and persistently for years for her son St. Augustine. We learn from her that a mother’s dogged endurance will pay off. But there is still the wait.

I have friends who are waiting now. They have discerned a vocation of marriage and family but have not yet met their spouse. Like the man in the Gospel, they are suffering and someone else keeps getting there first. They watch their friends and roommates pair off and get engaged, and wonder when it will be their turn. My heart feels for them. I remember that wait and the emotional toll it takes.

This Gospel reminds us that Jesus sees us. He sees us in the wait - whether it is for physical healing, a spouse, or a child - and when the time is right, when it is just right, He will be there. Not only did He heal the man, He did it on the Sabbath. It was so important for Him to heal this man who’d waited, He did it on a day when it was forbidden. He was later persecuted, in part, because of this action. For reasons only God knows, it had to be that way and we believe it was for His glory.

I don’t know why some people are asked to wait for their heart’s desire, but I’ve come to realize through God’s grace that it is not waiting in vain nor it is waiting alone. We wait and we trust and we believe that He will be there with us through it and one day, the wait will be over and God will be glorified.

Ponder:

For what are you waiting?

Pray:

Jesus, help me to wait patiently, trusting that Your time is the right time.

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I don’t know why some people are asked to wait for their heart’s desire, but I’ve come to realize through God’s grace that it is not waiting in vain nor it is waiting alone. #DailyGospel

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