The royal official said to him,
“Sir, come down before my child dies.”
Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.”
The man believed what Jesus said to him and left.
While the man was on his way back,
his slaves met him and told him that his boy would live.
He asked them when he began to recover.
They told him,
“The fever left him yesterday, about one in the afternoon.”
The father realized that just at that time Jesus had said to him,
“Your son will live,”
and he and his whole household came to believe.

John 4: 49-53

Here are the complete readings for Monday, March 31, 2025.

(“Jesus Healing the Boy” by John Reilly)

It is March Madness college basketball time here in America. I have been watching this tournament faithfully since 1983 when I was 11 years old and my hometown North Carolina State Wolfpack surprised everyone by winning the National Championship. Recently I watched a retrospective film about this team’s historic run to greatness, and I was drawn to a speech by their coach, Jim Valvano, about the gift of belief given to him by his father, and how he then shared this gift with his underdog basketball team. The key to this belief, said Valvano, was the trusting relationship shared between the two men. Let us now consider the interaction between Jesus and the royal official in the Gospel. The man believes that Jesus is capable of healing his son based on Jesus’ reputation, but what drives the miracle itself is the love and trust between the man and his son. This belief transcends any kind of pretense and can create connection and community in unlikely places. When we believe, we want to share this miracle with people we know, and trust that we can model it with people we don’t know but meet in our everyday interactions. Like the older Mr. Valvano, we can say “our bags are packed” as we prepare for a potentially mysterious but ultimately joyful journey.

As a disciple of Jesus Christ,
you are called to follow in His footsteps
and minister God’s healing touch of love,
through word and deed,
to all whom you meet
in your journey of life. – The Fundamental Principles of the Xaverian Brothers

God, you are right here with us today and every day. Help us to believe that we are never alone. Thank you for giving us the choice to accept this or not. This gift of freedom makes our faith possible. Wherever we are on our journey of life, we are grateful that you see us, just as we are. Help us cherish your presence with confidence when life seems most daunting or troubled, so that we never lose our sense of wonder, whatever we encounter.

Amen