In faith, they touched his tassel and were healed at once.

The Feast of St Paul Miki, SJ and his Companion Martyrs. 

Monday 6th February 2023 in the 5th Week of Ordinary Time is the feast of St Paul Miki of the Society of Jesus (+ 1597). Japanese Priest  and 25 Companion Martyrs. St Paul Miki, a Japanese Jesuit and his 25 companions faced death courageously in Nagasaki, Japan in 1597 and thus were the first Christian martyrs in East Asia. 

The bloody persecution of the Church in Japan wiped out the Church in Japan and seemed to have obliterated the missionary efforts of St Francis Xavier, SJ and others. The mystery of Divine Providence is inscrutable! The blood of martyrs is the seed of Christianity, says Tertulian. 

"After making the crossing to the other side of the sea, Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret and tied up there. As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him. 

"They scurried about the surrounding country and began to bring in the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was.

"Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak; and as many as touched it were healed." (Mark 6: 53 - 56).

By faith, the sick and their friends who brought them to Jesus believed that if they touched the tassel of the cloak of Jesus they would be healed. 

By faith, St Paul Miki and his companions decided to face death than to be enticed by the flimsy and shallow pleasures of this world. We celebrate their lives today as members of the Communion of the Saints. 

In the first Reading from Genesis 1: 1 - 19, we note the way and manner God created the world. Step by step. 

Incrementally. Rome and Washington DC were not built in one day. Adam and Eve ruined the first creation by their foolish disobedience. The second creation was inaugurated with the Baptism of Jesus. With our Baptism, we become the children of God and heirs to all the promises of God in Jesus. 

Do not throw away your confidence in the promises of God. 

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com