July 5, 2012 Thursday: 13th Week in Ordinary Time

On all sides the crowd is pressing him yet he is in no hurry to work a visible miracle by healing the external paralysis of this man... He begins with an invisible miracle by healing the
man's soul. This kind of healing is far more beneficial for him and,
outwardly speaking, less glorious for Christ. -St. John Chrysostom

The perfect love of our heavenly Father includes as well as transcends all the love that a father and mother can have for their children. We may think about the two hands of God embracing us as a mother's hand and a father's hand: one caressing, consoling, and comforting, the other supporting, encouraging, and empowering. We too are called to be father and mother to those who want to come home.
-Fr. Henri Nouwen