Third Sunday- The haemorrhaging woman
Third Sunday- The hemorrhaging woman
Gospel: Luke 8:40-56
Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. 41 Just then there came a man named Jairus, a leader of the synagogue. He fell at Jesus’ feet and begged him to come to his house, 42 for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, who was dying.
As he went, the crowds pressed in on him. 43 Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years; and though she had spent all she had on physicians, no one could cure her. 44 She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his clothes, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped. 45 Then Jesus asked, “Who touched me?” When all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds surround you and press in on you.” 46 But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; for I noticed that power had gone out from me.” 47 When the woman saw that she could not remain hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before him, she declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. 48 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”
49 While he was still speaking, someone came from the leader’s house to say, “Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the teacher any longer.” 50 When Jesus heard this, he replied, “Do not fear. Only believe, and she will be saved.” 51 When he came to the house, he did not allow anyone to enter with him, except Peter, John, and James, and the child’s father and mother. 52 They were all weeping and wailing for her; but he said, “Do not weep; for she is not dead but sleeping.” 53 And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. 54 But he took her by the hand and called out, “Child, get up!” 55 Her spirit returned, and she got up at once. Then he directed them to give her something to eat. 56 Her parents were astounded; but he ordered them to tell no one what had happened.
Reflection 1
When Everything Fails, His Mercy Remains
We are in the third week of the Lenten season, and today we encounter two miracles woven into one: the healing of the hemorrhaging woman and the raising of Jairus’ daughter. Luke intertwines these stories to reveal the heart of Jesus in the face of human suffering.
Both are marked by the number twelve—twelve years of suffering and twelve years of life. One woman loses life slowly; one child loses it suddenly. One comes in secret; the other approaches publicly. Yet both meet the same compassion, authority and invitation to faith. In fear and delay, Jesus shows that neither sickness nor death has the final word.
Luke, the Gospel of mercy, presents Jesus drawing near to the afflicted, the excluded, and the desperate. Suffering becomes the place where divine mercy meets human need.
Jairus, a respected synagogue leader, and the unnamed woman, socially invisible, both kneel before Him. Before Christ, status disappears — what remains is faith.
In His presence, all stand equal — and all stand in need of His mercy.
When pain becomes a doorway to meet Him
The greatest doorway of pain in Christian faith is the Cross. On the Cross, suffering, rejection, humiliation, and death seem to triumph. Yet it is precisely there that salvation is accomplished. In Jesus crucified, we see that God does not stand at a distance from human pain—He enters it fully. He takes upon Himself our wounds, our fear, and even our death. What appears to be defeat becomes victory; what looks like an ending becomes the beginning of resurrection life. The Cross reveals that suffering, when united with Christ, is no longer meaningless. It becomes a place of encounter, where wounds are transformed into witnesses and despair is opened to hope.
The Crowd vs the Connection
Jesus is surrounded by a crowd. Many are pressing in; many are touching Him — yet only one touch releases power. There is a difference between being around Jesus and truly reaching for Him. In our Maronite community, we may be physically present — attending Mass, serving, volunteering — yet still spiritually distant. Activity is not the same as intimacy. The woman’s touch was different: it was intentional, faith-filled, and personal.
Jesus Stopped
Jairus asked first, yet Jesus stopped for the woman. What felt like a painful delay was not a mistake. In God’s plan, no act of faith is too small to pause for. At times we feel God is late, especially when situations seem hopeless. But Christ is never delayed. Though mourners laughed when He said, “She is not dead, but sleeping,” He took the girl by the hand — and life returned.
A though for the week
“The more you recognize your nothingness, the more you realize that you need God.” St. John Paul II
Reflection 2
Deeper healing
On this third Sunday of Lent, the Church invites us to reflect on two miracles. The first explains faith, while the second shows that faith triumphs over death. This Gospel passage evokes two levels of healing as Benedict XVI described: “one, more superficial, concerns the body. The other deeper level touches the innermost depths of the person, what the Bible calls “the heart”, and from there spreads to the whole of a person’s life”.
The healing of the woman suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years symbolises those who bleed in their physical, spiritual, emotional or moral suffering. Her journey was not only physical but also emotional and social, as she had been isolated and rejected by society. Jesus healed her as soon as she touched His cloak in faith, restoring her dignity. Her strong faith made her able to experience not only the bodily healing but a deeper healing - the healing of peace.
Many surrounded Him, but only a few truly touched Him. Physical contact is meaningless without faith, which is the gateway to salvation and a true encounter with the Lord. When Jesus asked, "Who touched me?" it showed that a believer enters into a direct relationship with God. He also wanted the woman to publicly declare her faith, breaking societal laws and showing that the marginalised are of great importance to God.
The woman didn't cry out or speak of her suffering but trusted that touching silently His cloak would heal her. Her bleeding symbolises the loss of virtues, especially faith, from which hope, love and other Christian values flow. We all experience spiritual or moral bleeding and only Jesus can heal us.
Let us renew our faith in Jesus, trusting that He can stop our spiritual bleeding. Let us approach Him and through the sacraments, especially repentance and the Eucharist, we will be healed.
Some Key points from the gospel
A thought for the week-A powerful lesson in patience
Sometimes, healing is not just about immediate relief, but about God’s deeper work in our hearts during the waiting process. It is in the waiting that our faith can grow stronger and our understanding of God’s faithfulness can deepen.
Reflection 3
The touch of the heart
The third Sunday in Lent offers us the healing of a woman with a hemorrhage and the raising of Jairus’ daughter. Both stories involved situations where human solutions failed.
This Gospel passage evokes two levels of healing as Benedict XVI described: “one, more superficial, concerns the body. The other deeper level touches the innermost depths of the person, what the Bible calls “the heart”, and from there spreads to the whole of a person’s life”.
St. Luke interweaved both miracles presenting Jesus as the master of sickness and death. The faith of Jairus in Jesus and the faith of the sick woman led to the miracles through divine mercy.
The healing of the hemorrhaging woman is a remarkable healing story that is very different to all of the others. The Evangelist does not mention the name of the woman suffering from bleeding, allowing us to think that she represents a large group of society in all days and times. Luke the physician records that no doctor was able to cure her.
The haemorrhaging woman touched Jesus in her mind and heart first before she touched his hem. Her fear from the crowd made her touch his hem silently but her strong faith made her able to experience not only the bodily healing but a deeper healing - the healing of peace.
The true impurity
If, according to the law, a woman’s bleeding, whether on time or not, is considered impurity, and it is something that was not of her will, then how dare we call the bleeding of sin that strikes our societies nothing less than impurity. No one has the right to touch her or to touch a place that she has touched and she is ashamed of her condition. As for us, we boast that sin bleeds only among us because it may have given us more wealth, power, or prestige.
The true impurity does not come from external matters, such as bleeding and leprosy, but from within the human heart, as Jesus once taught:
“Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile. But what comes out of a person that is what defiles. From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts” (Mark 7:15; 20-21)
“Daughter”
Jesus showed his love for the hemorrhaging woman by calling her “daughter”. This is the only place in the Bible where Jesus calls somebody “daughter.” Her healing is more than physical healing… she has found wholeness and value in her new life.
Jairus humbly but publicly falls at Jesus’ feet and asks him to come and cure his dying daughter.
We see the deep faith of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue, who believed that Jesus could bring his daughter back to life.
Faith in Christ surpasses adherence to the Law and breaks all barriers.
In all the pitfalls and brokenness of human existence, our faith in Jesus is our comfort. It is also our challenge. Jesus has the power to heal and restore not only our physical illnesses but also our hearts and spirit.
Power over death
Jesus demonstrates His power over death by raising Jairus' daughter back to life. This miracle highlights Jesus' authority not only over sickness and disease but also over death itself. It foreshadows His ultimate victory over death through His own resurrection, offering hope and comfort to believers in the face of mortality.
A thought for the week
Faith is a stance and a path, as is prayer, before they are declarations in words. Faith is the language of the heart, not of the lips.
She thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.”
Help us to realise that we need to touch you with faith and be touched by you to find true life.
Learn From Jesus during Lent Part 2
Third Temptation
Satan tempted Jesus by presenting him with the best the world could offer -great riches, privileges, glory and fame, and the power to rule over all the kingdoms of the world.
Jesus again defeated Satan with the words of Scripture "It is written, `You shall worship the
Lord your God, and him only shall you serve'" (Deuteronomy 6:13).
Learn from Jesus:
➢ All the wealth, power, respect, status, and pleasures this world may offer will fade and they are nothing compared to what we can obtain when we follow God’s commandments.
➢ The heart cannot serve two masters.
➢ Like Jesus our choice should be to honour God and to serve His kingdom above all else.
Refection 4
The touch of faith
Jesus holds out to each one of us the same love he extended to the people of his own time. The miracle of the curing of the daughter of Jairus and of the hemorrhaging woman speak of His goodness and compassion. His gift of mercy and love have been repeated uncountable times down the long course of human history and of human weakness.
The haemorrhaging woman touched Jesus in her mind and heart first before she touched his hem. Her fear from the crowd made her touch his hem silently but her strong faith made her able to experience not only the bodily healing but a deeper healing - the healing of peace.
Jairus witnessed the miracles of casting out of the evils spirits, healing the man with the withered hand and later the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law.
He humbly but publicly falls at Jesus’ feet and asks him to come and cure his dying daughter.
We see the deep faith of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue, who believed that Jesus could bring his daughter back to life.
Faith in Christ surpasses adherence to the Law and breaks all barriers.
In all the pitfalls and brokenness of human existence, our faith in Jesus is our comfort. It is also our challenge. Jesus has the power to heal and restore not only our physical illnesses but also our hearts and spirit.
The eyes of mercy
In the heart of the crowd and among the notables, the eye of mercy remains open to the poor and the forgotten, and the ears of response remain sensitive to the sufferer amidst all the noise.
Learn From Jesus during Lent
Part 2 - Second Temptation
We must not tempt God
In the second temptation, the devil wants Jesus to tempt God by throwing himself off the pinnacle of the temple. Psalm 91 says, “He will give his angels charge of you, and on their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.” Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:16, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.”
Learn from Jesus
A thought for the Week
“The only real power in the world is the power of love” Gwen Simon
Jesus responds by looking upon the hemorrhaging woman with tenderness and acknowledges her dignity. He treats her with love and heals her of her affliction. Faith in Christ brings salvation; it offers healing, restores right relationships between people and affirms our inviolable dignity. Jesus asks all of us to trust in his word and, having experienced his mercy, to be a leaven of that mercy in our world. Pope Francis
And this too was for the benefit of Jairus, though it was indeed a hard lesson. For he learns, that neither the legal worship, nor the shedding of blood, nor the slaying of goats and calves, nor the circumcision of the flesh, nor the rest of the sabbaths, nor ought besides of these temporary and typical matters, can save the dwellers upon earth; faith only in Christ can do so, by means of which even the blessed Abraham was justified and called the friend of God, and counted worthy of especial honours. Saint Cyril
Gospel: Luke 8:40-56
Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. 41 Just then there came a man named Jairus, a leader of the synagogue. He fell at Jesus’ feet and begged him to come to his house, 42 for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, who was dying.
As he went, the crowds pressed in on him. 43 Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years; and though she had spent all she had on physicians, no one could cure her. 44 She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his clothes, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped. 45 Then Jesus asked, “Who touched me?” When all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds surround you and press in on you.” 46 But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; for I noticed that power had gone out from me.” 47 When the woman saw that she could not remain hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before him, she declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. 48 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”
49 While he was still speaking, someone came from the leader’s house to say, “Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the teacher any longer.” 50 When Jesus heard this, he replied, “Do not fear. Only believe, and she will be saved.” 51 When he came to the house, he did not allow anyone to enter with him, except Peter, John, and James, and the child’s father and mother. 52 They were all weeping and wailing for her; but he said, “Do not weep; for she is not dead but sleeping.” 53 And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. 54 But he took her by the hand and called out, “Child, get up!” 55 Her spirit returned, and she got up at once. Then he directed them to give her something to eat. 56 Her parents were astounded; but he ordered them to tell no one what had happened.
Reflection 1
When Everything Fails, His Mercy Remains
We are in the third week of the Lenten season, and today we encounter two miracles woven into one: the healing of the hemorrhaging woman and the raising of Jairus’ daughter. Luke intertwines these stories to reveal the heart of Jesus in the face of human suffering.
Both are marked by the number twelve—twelve years of suffering and twelve years of life. One woman loses life slowly; one child loses it suddenly. One comes in secret; the other approaches publicly. Yet both meet the same compassion, authority and invitation to faith. In fear and delay, Jesus shows that neither sickness nor death has the final word.
Luke, the Gospel of mercy, presents Jesus drawing near to the afflicted, the excluded, and the desperate. Suffering becomes the place where divine mercy meets human need.
Jairus, a respected synagogue leader, and the unnamed woman, socially invisible, both kneel before Him. Before Christ, status disappears — what remains is faith.
In His presence, all stand equal — and all stand in need of His mercy.
When pain becomes a doorway to meet Him
The greatest doorway of pain in Christian faith is the Cross. On the Cross, suffering, rejection, humiliation, and death seem to triumph. Yet it is precisely there that salvation is accomplished. In Jesus crucified, we see that God does not stand at a distance from human pain—He enters it fully. He takes upon Himself our wounds, our fear, and even our death. What appears to be defeat becomes victory; what looks like an ending becomes the beginning of resurrection life. The Cross reveals that suffering, when united with Christ, is no longer meaningless. It becomes a place of encounter, where wounds are transformed into witnesses and despair is opened to hope.
The Crowd vs the Connection
Jesus is surrounded by a crowd. Many are pressing in; many are touching Him — yet only one touch releases power. There is a difference between being around Jesus and truly reaching for Him. In our Maronite community, we may be physically present — attending Mass, serving, volunteering — yet still spiritually distant. Activity is not the same as intimacy. The woman’s touch was different: it was intentional, faith-filled, and personal.
Jesus Stopped
Jairus asked first, yet Jesus stopped for the woman. What felt like a painful delay was not a mistake. In God’s plan, no act of faith is too small to pause for. At times we feel God is late, especially when situations seem hopeless. But Christ is never delayed. Though mourners laughed when He said, “She is not dead, but sleeping,” He took the girl by the hand — and life returned.
A though for the week
“The more you recognize your nothingness, the more you realize that you need God.” St. John Paul II
Reflection 2
Deeper healing
On this third Sunday of Lent, the Church invites us to reflect on two miracles. The first explains faith, while the second shows that faith triumphs over death. This Gospel passage evokes two levels of healing as Benedict XVI described: “one, more superficial, concerns the body. The other deeper level touches the innermost depths of the person, what the Bible calls “the heart”, and from there spreads to the whole of a person’s life”.
The healing of the woman suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years symbolises those who bleed in their physical, spiritual, emotional or moral suffering. Her journey was not only physical but also emotional and social, as she had been isolated and rejected by society. Jesus healed her as soon as she touched His cloak in faith, restoring her dignity. Her strong faith made her able to experience not only the bodily healing but a deeper healing - the healing of peace.
Many surrounded Him, but only a few truly touched Him. Physical contact is meaningless without faith, which is the gateway to salvation and a true encounter with the Lord. When Jesus asked, "Who touched me?" it showed that a believer enters into a direct relationship with God. He also wanted the woman to publicly declare her faith, breaking societal laws and showing that the marginalised are of great importance to God.
The woman didn't cry out or speak of her suffering but trusted that touching silently His cloak would heal her. Her bleeding symbolises the loss of virtues, especially faith, from which hope, love and other Christian values flow. We all experience spiritual or moral bleeding and only Jesus can heal us.
Let us renew our faith in Jesus, trusting that He can stop our spiritual bleeding. Let us approach Him and through the sacraments, especially repentance and the Eucharist, we will be healed.
Some Key points from the gospel
- This is the only place in the Bible where Jesus calls someone "daughter," showing that her healing restores her wholeness and value.
- We are called to reflect on our faith and trust in Jesus.
- It is only when we accept our limitations, when we lose control and become helpless and needy, that we begin to accept our dependence on God.
- We are invited to respond to life's interruptions with trust and openness to God's unexpected ways.
- Hope, patience and persistence lead us into a deeper relationship with Jesus.
- True impurity comes from the heart, not from external things.
- Jesus has the power to heal not just physical ailments but also our hearts and spirits.
A thought for the week-A powerful lesson in patience
Sometimes, healing is not just about immediate relief, but about God’s deeper work in our hearts during the waiting process. It is in the waiting that our faith can grow stronger and our understanding of God’s faithfulness can deepen.
Reflection 3
The touch of the heart
The third Sunday in Lent offers us the healing of a woman with a hemorrhage and the raising of Jairus’ daughter. Both stories involved situations where human solutions failed.
This Gospel passage evokes two levels of healing as Benedict XVI described: “one, more superficial, concerns the body. The other deeper level touches the innermost depths of the person, what the Bible calls “the heart”, and from there spreads to the whole of a person’s life”.
St. Luke interweaved both miracles presenting Jesus as the master of sickness and death. The faith of Jairus in Jesus and the faith of the sick woman led to the miracles through divine mercy.
The healing of the hemorrhaging woman is a remarkable healing story that is very different to all of the others. The Evangelist does not mention the name of the woman suffering from bleeding, allowing us to think that she represents a large group of society in all days and times. Luke the physician records that no doctor was able to cure her.
The haemorrhaging woman touched Jesus in her mind and heart first before she touched his hem. Her fear from the crowd made her touch his hem silently but her strong faith made her able to experience not only the bodily healing but a deeper healing - the healing of peace.
The true impurity
If, according to the law, a woman’s bleeding, whether on time or not, is considered impurity, and it is something that was not of her will, then how dare we call the bleeding of sin that strikes our societies nothing less than impurity. No one has the right to touch her or to touch a place that she has touched and she is ashamed of her condition. As for us, we boast that sin bleeds only among us because it may have given us more wealth, power, or prestige.
The true impurity does not come from external matters, such as bleeding and leprosy, but from within the human heart, as Jesus once taught:
“Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile. But what comes out of a person that is what defiles. From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts” (Mark 7:15; 20-21)
“Daughter”
Jesus showed his love for the hemorrhaging woman by calling her “daughter”. This is the only place in the Bible where Jesus calls somebody “daughter.” Her healing is more than physical healing… she has found wholeness and value in her new life.
Jairus humbly but publicly falls at Jesus’ feet and asks him to come and cure his dying daughter.
We see the deep faith of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue, who believed that Jesus could bring his daughter back to life.
Faith in Christ surpasses adherence to the Law and breaks all barriers.
In all the pitfalls and brokenness of human existence, our faith in Jesus is our comfort. It is also our challenge. Jesus has the power to heal and restore not only our physical illnesses but also our hearts and spirit.
Power over death
Jesus demonstrates His power over death by raising Jairus' daughter back to life. This miracle highlights Jesus' authority not only over sickness and disease but also over death itself. It foreshadows His ultimate victory over death through His own resurrection, offering hope and comfort to believers in the face of mortality.
A thought for the week
Faith is a stance and a path, as is prayer, before they are declarations in words. Faith is the language of the heart, not of the lips.
She thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.”
Help us to realise that we need to touch you with faith and be touched by you to find true life.
Learn From Jesus during Lent Part 2
Third Temptation
Satan tempted Jesus by presenting him with the best the world could offer -great riches, privileges, glory and fame, and the power to rule over all the kingdoms of the world.
Jesus again defeated Satan with the words of Scripture "It is written, `You shall worship the
Lord your God, and him only shall you serve'" (Deuteronomy 6:13).
Learn from Jesus:
➢ All the wealth, power, respect, status, and pleasures this world may offer will fade and they are nothing compared to what we can obtain when we follow God’s commandments.
➢ The heart cannot serve two masters.
➢ Like Jesus our choice should be to honour God and to serve His kingdom above all else.
Refection 4
The touch of faith
Jesus holds out to each one of us the same love he extended to the people of his own time. The miracle of the curing of the daughter of Jairus and of the hemorrhaging woman speak of His goodness and compassion. His gift of mercy and love have been repeated uncountable times down the long course of human history and of human weakness.
The haemorrhaging woman touched Jesus in her mind and heart first before she touched his hem. Her fear from the crowd made her touch his hem silently but her strong faith made her able to experience not only the bodily healing but a deeper healing - the healing of peace.
Jairus witnessed the miracles of casting out of the evils spirits, healing the man with the withered hand and later the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law.
He humbly but publicly falls at Jesus’ feet and asks him to come and cure his dying daughter.
We see the deep faith of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue, who believed that Jesus could bring his daughter back to life.
Faith in Christ surpasses adherence to the Law and breaks all barriers.
In all the pitfalls and brokenness of human existence, our faith in Jesus is our comfort. It is also our challenge. Jesus has the power to heal and restore not only our physical illnesses but also our hearts and spirit.
The eyes of mercy
In the heart of the crowd and among the notables, the eye of mercy remains open to the poor and the forgotten, and the ears of response remain sensitive to the sufferer amidst all the noise.
Learn From Jesus during Lent
Part 2 - Second Temptation
We must not tempt God
In the second temptation, the devil wants Jesus to tempt God by throwing himself off the pinnacle of the temple. Psalm 91 says, “He will give his angels charge of you, and on their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.” Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:16, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.”
Learn from Jesus
- We must not foolishly tempt God
- The moment we put God to the test, it means we do not really trust Him
- We should refer to the word of God to find strength and insight to fight off evil
- Our source of strength is the word of God
A thought for the Week
“The only real power in the world is the power of love” Gwen Simon
Jesus responds by looking upon the hemorrhaging woman with tenderness and acknowledges her dignity. He treats her with love and heals her of her affliction. Faith in Christ brings salvation; it offers healing, restores right relationships between people and affirms our inviolable dignity. Jesus asks all of us to trust in his word and, having experienced his mercy, to be a leaven of that mercy in our world. Pope Francis
And this too was for the benefit of Jairus, though it was indeed a hard lesson. For he learns, that neither the legal worship, nor the shedding of blood, nor the slaying of goats and calves, nor the circumcision of the flesh, nor the rest of the sabbaths, nor ought besides of these temporary and typical matters, can save the dwellers upon earth; faith only in Christ can do so, by means of which even the blessed Abraham was justified and called the friend of God, and counted worthy of especial honours. Saint Cyril