Optional Memorial of St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr

Brief Background:

Saint Blaise was a fourth-century bishop of Sebaste in Armenia and a former physician known for his care of the sick. He is especially remembered for healing a child who was choking after the child’s parents asked for his prayers. Because of this, the Church honors him as the patron saint of those suffering from throat illnesses and of physicians. Saint Blaise later died as a martyr during Christian persecutions, witnessing to a faith rooted in prayer, compassion, and trust in God.

REFLECTION:

I recently had a conversation with a good friend of mine who lives in California. She’s in her 40s, and just last year I was blessed to attend her wedding. Now she’s expecting her first child. As we talked story, our conversation naturally turned to parenting.

She shared something that really stayed with me. She said that as a parent, you often feel like you’re choosing between two approaches. One is to be strict and guiding—allowing your child to learn and grow, but always with your presence and boundaries. The other is to step back and let the child decide everything on their own. Then she said something many of us have heard before, or even said ourselves: every parent wants what is best for their child.

That simple truth—so familiar it almost sounds obvious—opens the door to today’s Scriptures. Because wanting what is best and knowing how to bring it about are not always the same thing.

In the first reading from 2 Samuel, we meet King David not as a ruler or warrior, but as a father. His son Absalom has made destructive choices, and now David waits anxiously for news. When he hears that Absalom has died, David cries out, “My son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you.”

This is what love sounds like when it is powerless. David loved his son deeply, yet he could not control his choices or protect him from the consequences. David’s grief reminds us that love does not mean ownership. We can guide, warn, and hope—but we cannot live another person’s life for them.

In the Gospel from Mark, we meet another parent, Jairus. Like David, he is a leader respected by others. Like David, he is helpless when his child is in danger. Jairus comes to Jesus because his daughter is dying. Even when the news arrives that she has died, Jesus tells him, “Do not be afraid; just have faith.”

Where David stands after the loss, Jairus stands in the middle of fear. And in that moment, Jairus does something David could not do—he places his child completely into God’s hands. Jesus takes the girl by the hand and says, “Talitha koum.” Little girl, arise.

Between these two stories stands the witness of Saint Blaise. Tradition remembers him as someone parents ran to in moments of fear for their children. Blaise did not control outcomes or guarantee results. What he offered was faith—trust that God is present even when life feels fragile. His witness reminds us that faith does not remove risk, but it gives us the courage to entrust what we love most to God.

Together, these stories speak not only to parents, but to all of us. We all love someone we cannot control. We all want what is best for others, even when we do not know how to make that happen. We all face moments when love alone is not enough.

David teaches us that grief is real and holy. Jairus teaches us to trust before the story is finished. Saint Blaise shows us that faith is lived out in ordinary acts of courage and prayer. And Jesus reminds us that even when fear and loss seem overwhelming, God is still at work.



In the end, the invitation is simple but challenging: to love deeply, to guide faithfully, and to trust God with the parts of life we cannot control.