Homily: July 17, 2026 Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time (Jesus Heals)

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In today's first reading, we hear that "Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord."

What a powerful image of sorrow and cry for help. Hezekiah was deeply broken. He did not know where else to go, so he turned away from everything, and faced only God.

When King David was betrayed by his own son Absalom, he was immensely sorrowful, so he covered his head from the world and wept his heart out to God as he fled Jerusalem. In their lowest moments, in their helplessness, both kings turned to the Lord.

Perhaps we have experienced moments like that. When we are overwhelmed by grief, sadness and have reached our breaking point, we feel we cannot face anyone, we need to hide away, we need to be alone. We simply need to pour out our feelings and empty our sorrow to someone who is strong enough to hold us up.

And today's reading tells us, that Someone is God. Hezekiah turned to God and was healed and restored. David turned to God and was saved and revived.

We have a loving God who desires to make us whole, He wants to mend our brokenness. No wound can heal completely; it would leave a scar but God’s mercy and grace can turn every wound into a beautiful sign of love and forgiveness. He does not restore us back to original, but remakes us into a better version. He moves us from sinful to saintly.

Let us ask ourselves:

- What are we anxious about at this point in life?

- What burdens are we carrying in our hearts today?

Are you willing to surrender all into Jesus’ hands? He wants us to hand over to Him. He wants us to turn away from everything and face only Him.

And in that moment of solitude with Him, He will heal and restore us.

So, let us turn our face to Him in prayer, knowing confidently that He will never turn His face away from us.

Let us pray, "Jesus heal me".

Amen.


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