First Reading (Wis 1:13-15; 2:23-24). God did not make us for death but for life in this world, and in the world to come.

Second Reading (2 Cor 8:7,9, 13-15). St Paul is appealing to the Corinthians to contribute to a collection for the poor in the Church at Jerusalem.

Gospel (Mk 5:1-43). Both of the miracles related here are signs of God’s power, restoring life and health through Jesus.

These miracles show that Jesus’ saving power can overcome sickness and even death. The reading from Wisdom serves as a backdrop to this message. God did not create human beings in order to destroy them, but that they should enjoy a blessed immortality.

Both the woman with the haemorrhage and the daughter of Jairus were beyond help of any earthly power. The great faith of the woman and of Jairus is stressed. Both believed that Jesus possessed a supernatural power to heal. Both miracles are signs of God’s power, restoring life and health through Jesus. The raising of the little girl is a foreshadowing of Jesus’ gift of eternal life to all who believe in him.