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Indeed, O God our Father, you are "gracious and merciful" as the psalmist declares today for you have never stopped from loving us and restoring us to health and to life despite our repeated sins against you.
As you have told your prophet Hosea today in the first reading, "allure" us and "lead us into the desert and speak to our hearts" (Hosea 2:16) like a lover; let us realize and rediscover anew you are our first love of all for you were the one who first loved us and still love us.
Lead us back into the desert to realize you are our only hope, the only one we can rely on and trust wholly for you are life yourself; like that sick woman in the crowd, turn to us anew in Jesus for we do not have the courage to face you; heal us of our afflictions that separate us from you and from everyone; raise us up in Jesus like that dead daughter of the synagogue official to rise to new level of relationships and new level of existence and relating with you, O God, and with everyone. Amen.