7 September 2021
Tuesday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time
There is power in human touch. We know that the apostles that Jesus chooses in today’s gospel laid hands on their successors to transfer their authority. It is the way it has been done throughout the ages up to our present bishops today. This uninterrupted line of continuity is known as Apostolic succession, and in fact, there are historical records of all this.
Human touch is also sought by the crowds in today’s gospel from Jesus in order to be healed. In our own experience, we know that sometimes the power of an embrace is better than all the medicine in the world. Though there might not be any official records of it, how beautiful to think that the hugs we receive and the hugs we then give also form part of an infinite and uninterrupted line of continuity that can be traced back to the source of Love itself, God.