“I DO WILL IT. BE MADE CLEAN.” MK 1:40-45
Humbly submit your will to God (Thy Will be done) and consecrate yourself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through Mary and Joseph.
A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said,
“If you wish, you can make me clean.”
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,
touched the leper, and said to him,
“I do will it. Be made clean.”
The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.
Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once.
Then he said to him, “See that you tell no one anything,
but go, show yourself to the priest
and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed;
that will be proof for them.”
The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter.
He spread the report abroad
so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly.
He remained outside in deserted places,
and people kept coming to him from everywhere. MK 1:40-45
Imagine being banned from your family, friends, school, workplace, community, most importantly the Temple. There are other lepers living with you in misery outside the towns. You may have lost all hope. Then, you hear that there is a Man that can cure you and set you free of your illness. Just as the leper did, we would fall to our knees and beg Jesus to heal us.
Now, stop imagining and instead of a leper insert you and me as a sinner. Jesus wills to heal us and He willed to die on the cross to fulfill His Father’s will to redeem us from Adam and Eve’s original sin. We can’t forget this part of our identity. We inherited a loss of holiness. The only way back to the Father, our Creator, is through a Savior, His body and blood, soul and divinity without sin, His life, sacrificed for our sins. Jesus saw each one of our faces and our sin past, present, and future. He willfully took our place to redeem us. God’s love is unfair. Do we appreciate it?
Jesus wills Baptism, reconciliation, and gives Himself to us totally and completely in the Eucharist, so that we have an opportunity for His grace and to be forgiven when we fall so that we can come back to Him healed of our infirmities, holy, and enter heaven. There is no limit to His mercy, never tire of returning to Him after you have fallen.
There are no whoppers too big for His grace. Grace restores what sin has damaged, allow yourself to be forgiven and healed. What will you do with this grace, this powerful love? Sin again or fight harder. Be careful not to take advantage of this great gift and sin again because you know God will forgive you (sin of presumption). God is not a slot machine. Jesus wants to cleanse us, but we must respond with love, thanksgiving, and avoid the near occasion of sin.
Jesus told the leper to show himself to the priest to be cleansed by what Moses prescribed, so that the priests would allow him back into their religious community. We too must forgive and allow people back into our lives. Forgiveness sets free the chains that bind us filled with hatred, anger, frustration, worry, anxiety, and bitterness towards another. Forgive and experience peace.
“Say please, thank you, and I’m sorry every day.” –Pope Francis
Today’s challenge: Allow Christ to heal your wounds, come before Him begging on your knees.
Be a servant, be a saint today!
#Christian YOLO
Recent Comments