Mercy purifies the heart (cf Lk 5:12-16)

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning!

“Lord, if you will, you can make me clean” (Lk 5:12) is the request that we heard addressed to Jesus by a leper. This man did not ask only to be healed, but to be “made clean”, that is, wholly restored, in body and in heart. Indeed, leprosy was considered a form of a curse of God, of profound uncleanliness. A leper had to stay away from everyone; he could not access the temple nor any divine service. Far from God and far from men. These people lived a sad life!

Despite this fact, that leper did not resign himself to the disease nor to the dispositions that made him an excluded man. In order to reach Jesus, he was not afraid to break the law and enter the city — something he should not have done, it was prohibited — and when he found Jesus, the man “fell on his face and besought him, ‘Lord, if you will, you can make me clean’” (v. 12). All that is done and said by this man, who was considered unclean, is an expression of his faith! He recognizes Jesus’ power: he is certain that Jesus has the power to heal him and that all depends on His will. This faith is the force that allows him to break every convention and seek the encounter with Jesus and, kneeling before Him, he calls Him “Lord”. The supplication of the leper demonstrates that when we present ourselves to Jesus it is not necessary to make long speeches. A few words are enough, provided that they are accompanied by complete trust in his omnipotence and in his goodness. Entrusting ourselves to God’s will in fact means remitting ourselves to his infinite mercy. I will even share with you a personal confidence. In the evening, before going to bed, I say this short prayer: “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean!”. And I pray five “Our Fathers”, one for each of Jesus’ wounds, because Jesus has cleansed us with his wounds. If I do this, you can do it too, in your home, and say: “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean!”, and think about Jesus’ wounds and say an “Our Father” for each of them. Jesus always hears us.

Jesus is deeply struck by this man. The Gospel of Mark emphasizes that “moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, ‘I will; be clean’” (1:41). Jesus’ gesture accompanies his words and renders the teaching more explicit. Contrary to the dispositions of the Law of Moses, which prohibited a leper from drawing near (cf. Lev 13:45-46), Jesus extends his hand and even touches him. How often do we encounter a poor person who comes to meet us! We can also be generous, we can have compassion, but usually we do not touch him. We offer him coins, we toss them there, but we avoid touching his hand. And we forget that that person is the Body of Christ! Jesus teaches us not to be afraid to touch the poor and the excluded, because He is in them. Touching the poor can cleanse us from hypocrisy and make us distressed over their condition. Touching the excluded. Today these young people accompany me. So many people think that it would be better if they stayed in their land, but they suffer so much there. They are our refugees, but so many consider them excluded. Please, they are our brothers! A Christian excludes no one, gives a place to everyone, allows everyone to come.

After healing the leper, Jesus commands him not to speak of this to anyone, but tells him: “go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to the people” (Lk 5:14). This disposition of Jesus demonstrates at least three things. First: the grace that acts in us does not seek sensationalism. Usually it is moved with discretion and without clamour. To treat our wounds and guide us on the path of holiness it works by patiently modelling our heart on the Heart of the Lord, so as to increasingly assume his thoughts and feelings. Second: by making the priest officially verify the healing and by celebrating an expiatory sacrifice, the leper is readmitted to the community of believers and to social life. His reintegration completes the healing. As he himself had supplicated, now he is completely made clean. Lastly, by presenting himself to the priests, the leper bears witness to them regarding Jesus and his messianic authority. The power of compassion with which Jesus healed the leper led this man’s faith to open itself to the mission. He was excluded, now he is one of us.

Let us consider ourselves, our miseries.... Each has his own. Let us think sincerely. How often we cover them with the hypocrisy of “good manners”. And precisely then it is necessary to be alone, to kneel before God and pray: “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean!”. Do it, do it before going to bed, every evening. Now together let us say this beautiful prayer: “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean!”.

[Pope Francis, General Audience 22 June 2016]

53 Last modified on Friday, 03 January 2025 14:00

Rate this item

1
2
3
4
5

(0 votes)

don Giuseppe Nespeca

Giuseppe Nespeca è architetto e sacerdote. Cultore della Sacra scrittura è autore della raccolta "Due Fuochi due Vie - Religione e Fede, Vangeli e Tao"; coautore del libro "Dialogo e Solstizio".

Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Latest from don Giuseppe Nespeca

Previous
« 'Today' always valid

Next
Holy Spirit is the main author »

back to top

“If any one would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all” (Mk 9:35) […] To preside at the Lord’s Supper is, therefore, an urgent invitation to offer oneself in gift, so that the attitude of the Suffering Servant and Lord may continue and grow in the Church (Papa Giovanni Paolo II)

"Se uno vuol essere il primo, sia l'ultimo di tutti e il servo di tutti" (Mc 9, 35) […] Presiedere la Cena del Signore è, pertanto, invito pressante ad offrirsi in dono, perché permanga e cresca nella Chiesa l'atteggiamento del Servo sofferente e Signore (Papa Giovanni Paolo II)

Miracles still exist today. But to allow the Lord to carry them out there is a need for courageous prayer, capable of overcoming that "something of unbelief" that dwells in the heart of every man, even if he is a man of faith. Prayer must "put flesh on the fire", that is, involve our person and commit our whole life, to overcome unbelief (Pope Francis)

I miracoli esistono ancora oggi. Ma per consentire al Signore di compierli c'è bisogno di una preghiera coraggiosa, capace di superare quel "qualcosa di incredulità" che alberga nel cuore di ogni uomo, anche se uomo di fede. La preghiera deve "mettere carne al fuoco", cioè coinvolgere la nostra persona e impegnare tutta la nostra vita, per superare l'incredulità (Papa Francesco)

The works of mercy are “handcrafted”, in the sense that none of them is alike. Our hands can craft them in a thousand different ways, and even though the one God inspires them, and they are all fashioned from the same “material”, mercy itself, each one takes on a different form (Misericordia et misera, n.20)

Le opere di misericordia sono “artigianali”: nessuna di esse è uguale all’altra; le nostre mani possono modellarle in mille modi, e anche se unico è Dio che le ispira e unica la “materia” di cui sono fatte, cioè la misericordia stessa, ciascuna acquista una forma diversa (Misericordia et misera, n.20)

At this moment, the Lord repeats his question to each of us: “who do you say that I am?” (Mt 16:15). A clear and direct question, which one cannot avoid or remain neutral to, nor can one remand it or delegate the response to someone else. In this question there is nothing inquisitional (Pope Francis)

In questo momento, ad ognuno di noi il Signore Gesù ripete la sua domanda: «Voi, chi dite che io sia?» (Mt 16,15). Una domanda chiara e diretta, di fronte alla quale non è possibile sfuggire o rimanere neutrali, né rimandare la risposta o delegarla a qualcun altro. Ma in essa non c’è nulla di inquisitorio (Papa Francesco)

Love is indeed “ecstasy”, not in the sense of a moment of intoxication, but rather as a journey, an ongoing exodus out of the closed inward-looking self towards its liberation through self-giving, and thus towards authentic self-discovery and indeed the discovery of God (Deus Caritas est n.6)

Sì, amore è « estasi », ma estasi non nel senso di un momento di ebbrezza, ma estasi come cammino, come esodo permanente dall'io chiuso in se stesso verso la sua liberazione nel dono di sé, e proprio così verso il ritrovamento di sé, anzi verso la scoperta di Dio (Deus Caritas est n.6)

Before asking them, the Twelve, directly, Jesus wants to hear from them what the people think about him, and he is well aware that the disciples are very sensitive to the Teacher’s renown! Therefore, he asks: “Who do men say that I am?” (v. 27). It comes to light that Jesus is considered by the people as a great prophet. But, in reality, he is not interested in the opinions and gossip of the people (Pope Francis)

duevie.art

don Giuseppe Nespeca

Tel. 333-1329741

Disclaimer

Questo blog non rappresenta una testata giornalistica in quanto viene aggiornato senza alcuna periodicità. Non può pertanto considerarsi un prodotto editoriale ai sensi della legge N°62 del 07/03/2001.
Le immagini sono tratte da internet, ma se il loro uso violasse diritti d'autore, lo si comunichi all'autore del blog che provvederà alla loro pronta rimozione.
L'autore dichiara di non essere responsabile dei commenti lasciati nei post. Eventuali commenti dei lettori, lesivi dell'immagine o dell'onorabilità di persone terze, il cui contenuto fosse ritenuto non idoneo alla pubblicazione verranno insindacabilmente rimossi.