Friday, January 8, 2021 - Friday after the Epiphany - Jesus proclaimed the Gospel of the Kingdom, and healed every sickness in the people - Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 5, 12-16

For the Jews leprosy is the worst disease, and those who suffer from it are condemned to imprisonment. In this Gospel, a leper, with courage, dares to come to Jesus, knowing that only He can heal him. Humbly, he recognized his impurity in body and soul: "Lord, if you want, you can cleanse me". In the same way, in our lives, Jesus is always waiting for us to pronounce these words so that He can help us and change our lives.

At present, our leprosy is the sin that is in our heart. And only Jesus can heal it if we take steps like this leper: let us come to him with humility and righteousness. This is done through the sacrament of reconciliation in which the priest purifies us, absolving our sins in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, so that we may be reconciled with God and the Church. Likewise, when this leper was healed, Jesus told him to present himself to the priests so that he could return to the community again.

It is therefore important to recognise "our leprosy", which is in our heart and makes us unclean, it makes us come to Jesus with confidence and humility, to be healed.