B
BarbaraTherese
Guest
We are all fashioned to some degreee or other by “where we are coming from” - or our experiences in our past. Some bear terrible psychological and emotional scars and sighting these I can be inclined to be condemning, not realizing what has caused these problems. Hence today’s Gospel speaks to me about not condemning others. One of the CAF members has a signature which runs something like - be kind to all, we are all battling on some level or other. I only hope and pray that I will remember this - although that I fear that I wont. Yet all things are possible to God and His Grace…all things are possible in prayer. We can truly “dream big” when we pray.
DAILY MASS READINGS
usccb.org/nab/011108.shtml
Background to Gospel (scroll down to
“Reflection”)
ocarm.org/lectio/annoA_eng/035eng.htm
Meditation
wau.org/meditations/meditations.asp?month=01&day=11&year=2008&x=7&y=0
Because they carried the stigma of ritual defilement and were thought to be highly contagious, lepers and victims of other skin diseases in Jesus’ time were banished from the towns and ended up living in squalid, quarantined conditions.**
Sin is a spiritual disease that results in its own type of quarantine. It separates us from one another and alienates us from God. Like physical disease, it not only affects our bodies but our minds as well. It can also infect other members of the body of Christ. Ultimately, if not attended to, this condition can be fatal.
With great compassion and love, Jesus came into the world to offer his healing touch. Risking defilement and disease himself, he reached out to the sick and the outcast and cleansed them. Every time Jesus touched someone and removed that person’s burden, he foreshadowed the time when he would bear all our griefs and carry all our sorrows on the cross, winning our redemption (Isaiah 53:4,10-12).
Jesus can change us from unclean to clean, from sickness to health, from death to life, from the darkness of sin to the radiance of God’s presence. He came to heal us by “the bath of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). The blood that poured out from his side has the power to bring us healing even today as we cry out, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean” (Luke 5:12).
We don’t have to suffer from all the wounds of hatred, anger, and envy in our lives. We can be healed of contagious sins such as malice and slander. Fear and guilt need not control us. Jesus has forgiven us and offers us peace and a new life in him. Clothed with righteousness, we can walk in his light, even with those from whom we had once been alienated. What a message of hope!
“Lord Jesus, you promised to sprinkle clean water on us and to cleanse us from all our iniquity. You promised to give us a new heart and a new spirit, as pure as you yourself are (Ezekiel 36:25-26). We turn to you today, Lord, and ask you to make us clean.”
DAILY MASS READINGS
usccb.org/nab/011108.shtml
Background to Gospel (scroll down to
“Reflection”)
ocarm.org/lectio/annoA_eng/035eng.htm
Meditation
wau.org/meditations/meditations.asp?month=01&day=11&year=2008&x=7&y=0
Because they carried the stigma of ritual defilement and were thought to be highly contagious, lepers and victims of other skin diseases in Jesus’ time were banished from the towns and ended up living in squalid, quarantined conditions.**
**And, we can only imagine other people’s shock when Jesus actually touched a leper to make him clean.
Sin is a spiritual disease that results in its own type of quarantine. It separates us from one another and alienates us from God. Like physical disease, it not only affects our bodies but our minds as well. It can also infect other members of the body of Christ. Ultimately, if not attended to, this condition can be fatal.
With great compassion and love, Jesus came into the world to offer his healing touch. Risking defilement and disease himself, he reached out to the sick and the outcast and cleansed them. Every time Jesus touched someone and removed that person’s burden, he foreshadowed the time when he would bear all our griefs and carry all our sorrows on the cross, winning our redemption (Isaiah 53:4,10-12).
Jesus can change us from unclean to clean, from sickness to health, from death to life, from the darkness of sin to the radiance of God’s presence. He came to heal us by “the bath of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). The blood that poured out from his side has the power to bring us healing even today as we cry out, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean” (Luke 5:12).
We don’t have to suffer from all the wounds of hatred, anger, and envy in our lives. We can be healed of contagious sins such as malice and slander. Fear and guilt need not control us. Jesus has forgiven us and offers us peace and a new life in him. Clothed with righteousness, we can walk in his light, even with those from whom we had once been alienated. What a message of hope!
“Lord Jesus, you promised to sprinkle clean water on us and to cleanse us from all our iniquity. You promised to give us a new heart and a new spirit, as pure as you yourself are (Ezekiel 36:25-26). We turn to you today, Lord, and ask you to make us clean.”