[media presentation below] GospelThink Monday, February 5 MARK 6:53-56 I touched the people I healed. Prayerthoughts a. Jesus used what the people had as he worked among them, in this case, traveling by boat. Do I use the things of my time, cars, computers, Internet, etc. in a good way? b. People recognized Jesus in person. When people look at me, do they see the Christ that I am trying to imitate? c. The people of Jesus’s time took advantage of his presence. Do I turn to the Lord in the undertakings that I do in my life? d. Jesus was most concerned about the sick. Among the people that I know, am I concerned about those who are sick, that is do I visit if possible, pray for them, send a card, that is, show them that I care for them? e. As many as touched his tassel were healed. Do I “touch”, that is, pay attention to, everyone that I come into contact with? f. My prayerthoughts…   Today, I will read Genesis 1, and write an important thought from it.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  THE TOUCH THAT HEALS  + The set of first daily readings begins the book of Genesis today           – here beginning with the first creation story, taking us up to the fourth day of creation                      – with the constant refrain after each day, that “God saw how good it was”                                – everything that God created was good                                          – or another way of saying it: anything that God touches is made whole  + The idea of touching is a thought from the Gospel:           “As many as touched [Jesus’ cloak] were healed.”           – healing takes place when people have faith enough simply to approach the Lord                      – the thought can be taken further than physical healing, I believe                                – no doubt, that is what the evangelist Mark meant—they were healed physically—because of all the sick that were brought to him                                – but I think the thought extends further to include the mental area of people’s lives as well                                          – the worries that people had, etc.  + It is an important thought for us, as we go about our lives, I believe           – we are people of faith, obviously, or we wouldn’t be here                      – and one of the directives of our faith is that we must touch Jesus,                                – that is, that we must become closer and closer to him in prayer                                          – if we are to experience the healing that is necessary for our lives           – it is a healing that involves the physical, certainly, as we work with professionals to heal our ailments                      – but especially, we need the mental healing                                – we need the Lord’s help to make our thinking to be the type of thinking that a Christian should do—that is true mental healing                      – it includes the ability to adopt a good attitude about life, a good attitude about everyone we meet  + We know that if we touch Jesus, there will be healing           – it will be healing that primarily gives us a different attitude of living.