6th Week in Ordinary Time (Year A) : Sunday 11th February 2024

Chapter 13 in the Book of Leviticus describes how lepers were seen as ritually unclean and to be cut off from their community. Wearing torn clothing, covering the lower part of their faces, they had to shout ‘Unclean, unclean!” as they walked. Lepers, being marginalised and outcast, were permanently in exile.

They carried both the physical and psycho-spiritual emotional pain with the loss of human dignity, relationships, loneliness and grief, and they were not able to enter into the Temple and offer God the proper worship.

In the Gospel reading, the leper desired to be healed, broke the Leviticus law, knelt before Jesus and pleaded with Him to be cured. “Be cured!” moved by compassion and mercy, Jesus touched the leper and healed him.

Mark portrays Jesus as the Messianic High Priest, whose action marks the reality that God lives among us to restore us to wholeness. The story ends with the leper who could not contain his joy, proclaiming the good news.

Let us be like St Paul, sharing the stories of our encounter with Jesus, loved and forgiven, and reaching out to touch the lives of many who are being ostracised .. .to the sacrament of mercy and be reconciled with themselves, with the community and with God.

Dear Lord, may our merciful encounter with You impel us to reach out to others.