I once heard the Symphony of Two Worlds, which joined the music of Swiss composer Rev. Pierre Kaelin with the narration by librettist Dom Helder Camara, then archbishop of Recife, Brazil. It was an astonishing work in which the narrator links contralto and baritone solos, choral and orchestral sections. (Originally written in French by Dom Helder, an English translation is available under the title It’s Midnight, Lord.)
But what stayed with me was a visual image. Because I was up so high on an escalator looking at crowds below, I could spot the diminutive Dom Helder making his way through the throng. (He really did look like E.T.) As he moved along, I could see waves of people turned toward him like sunflowers following the sun. They couldn’t actually see him—he was only 5’2” and hidden by other, taller people—yet they felt his presence, as if the radiance of his goodness were warming them.
They called him “the red archbishop.” He was the voice of the poor as Pope Francis is today.
The Gospel’s crowds must have felt the presence of Jesus in their midst in the same way. Do what you can to avoid omitting the story of the woman who suffered from hemorrhages for twelve years; she touched Jesus’ cloak and was healed. Her illness would have made her an untouchable in that culture—imagine her shame and isolation, and give her due credit.
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from Religious Clip Art for the Liturgical Year (A, B, and C).
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