Hosea 2:16, 17-18, 21-22 / Matthew 9:18-26
Last week, from Monday to Friday, the priests of the diocese had their annual retreat.
The retreat was held at the Major Seminary, which is tucked away in Ponggol, a remote corner of the island.
It was a retreat that the priests looked forward to, because it was a break from the hectic pastoral ministry, and a time for prayer and rest and renewal.
Although there was no necessity to entice the priests to be at the retreat, there is always this temptation and distraction of the matters that were left behind in the parish.
The same cannot be said of God's people that we heard about in the 1st reading. God had to lure them and lead them out to the wilderness in order to speak to their hearts.
Certainly it was not going to be a pleasant journey for God's people to be driven into the wilderness and to be deprived of comforts.
But there is no doubt that in order to make someone listen, you may have to cut off all temptations and distractions from him in order to get your point across.
Similarly for the official and the woman with the haemorrhage in the gospel passage. It was in their loss and affliction that they know who to turn to in their need.
For the priests, they have seen death and illness happening to their people and at times they too are at a loss as to how to comfort their people and bring about hope and strengthen faith.
The retreat is a time where they recall who is the Saviour and to entrust these matters into His hands and to listen to His voice.
May we too let the Lord lead us in times of bereavement and illness so that we can listen to the voice of the Lord and find hope in life.