St. Blaise Pray for Us

Mass Readings and Reflection for Feb 3rd, 2026

• 1st Reading: (2 Samuel 18:9–10, 14, 24–25, 30–19:3) 

The death of Absalom and David’s profound grief. 

Responsorial Psalm: (Psalm 86:1–6). A cry of the poor asking God to listen and have mercy. 

Gospel: (Mark 5:21–43).

Jesus heals the woman with the hemorrhage and raises Jairus’ daughter. 

Reflection

Theological Themes Healing:

1. The Heart of the Father (2 Samuel 18–19)

• David’s love and anguish over Absalom, despite Absalom’s betrayal.
• A king whose justice and mercy collide as he faces the consequences of sin within his own family.

Th Theological Insights:

• God’s fatherly compassion surpasses even David’s.
  David cries, “Would that I had died instead of you!”.
  This foreshadows the self-giving love of God-fulfilled in Christ, who actually dies in our place.
• The text reveals the brokenness of human freedom: sin wounds relationships; mercy bears its cost.

2. The Cry of the Poor (Psalm 86)

The psalmist describes:

• Human poverty of spirit
• God’s steadfast mercy and responsiveness
• The heart of prayer: dependence on the Lord alone

Theology:

• Psalm 86 anticipates the Beatitudes: those who know their need for God are closest to Him.
• It also harmonizes with today’s Gospel: those who cry out in need (the hemorrhaging woman, Jairus) are heard.

3. Christ the Healer and Life-Giver (Mark 5:21–43)

In this Gospel, Jesus:

• Heals a woman suffering for 12 years
• Raises a 12‑year‑old girl from death

Theological depth:

• Faith as participation in Christ’s power:
  “Your faith has saved you” (summarized) teaches that faith is not magic but relationship.
• Jesus restores what sin and death steal:
  He heals physical suffering and reveals His authority over death.
• The dual miracle shows Christ’s tenderness toward suffering bodies, making today especially fitting for the Blessing of the Throats on St. Blaise’s feast.

 St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr -Feast Day Theology

St. Blaise (4th century):

• Bishop of Sebaste
• Known for healing miracles, especially of the throat
• Martyred for the faith

The traditional blessing:

“Through the intercession of Saint Blaise, may God deliver you from every disease of the throat and from every other illness.”

Theological significance:

• The blessing is not superstition.
• It is an invocation of Christ’s healing power through the communion of saints.
• St. Blaise, a physician of bodies and souls, mirrors Christ the Divine Physician.
• This feast, combined with today’s Gospel, illuminates how God works bodily, spiritually, and sacramentally to restore His people.

Integrated Reflection: The Father’s Compassion and Christ’s Healing

Today’s liturgy places three powerful images side by side:

1. David weeping over the death of his son
2. A psalmist crying for mercy
3. Two desperate people begging Jesus for healing

All three forms of suffering-parental grief, personal vulnerability, and physical illness-meet their fulfillment in Christ.

1. Christ is the fulfillment of David’s cry.

David wishes he could die for Absalom, but cannot.
Christ does die for sinners who rebel us.

2. Christ answers the plea of Psalm 86.

The psalmist begs God to bend down and hear.
In Jesus, God literally bends down into human misery, touching the unclean and raising the dead.

3. Christ transforms suffering  He does not avoid it.

• The hemorrhaging woman finds healing not through isolation but through encounter.
• Jairus’ daughter is raised not from a distance but by Christ taking her hand.

4. St. Blaise reminds us that healing continues in the Church.

The blessing of throats is a sign:

• that our bodies matter,
• that Christ still heals,
• and that the communion of saints is active in the life of the faithful.

Spiritual Application for Today

A. Do you carry grief like David?

Offer it to the One whose heart is pierced for you.

B. Do you cry from the depths like the psalmist?

Let your poverty become prayer.

C. Are you suffering in body or soul like those in the Gospel?

Come forward in faith, Christ still heals through the sacraments, the saints, and the Church.

D. Receive the St. Blaise blessing with theological clarity.

It is:

• a prayer for protection,
• an act of faith in Christ’s healing,
• and a reminder that holiness embraces both body and soul.

God bless you, 

Pal Ronnie