VI ORDINARY SUNDAY Homily
Bishop Fulton Sheen once visited a leper colony, where he planned to give a little silver cross to each of the 500 lepers. But when the first leper stepped forward, he had no left hand, and his right hand was covered with open sores. The bishop shuddered and drew back, holding the little cross at a safe distance above the leper’s hand, and then just dropping it into his palm. Later he said, “In a flash, I saw what I’d done. I realized there were 501 lepers there, and I was the worst! So I looked very hard at that little crucifix; and I knew what I had to do. I pressed my hand into the leper’s hand with that tiny symbol of love between us. And then I did the same for all 500!” Deep within, all of us carry wounds from past mistakes. They haunt us, and we seem to be stuck with them. But Bishop Sheen’s experience suggests a pathway to healing : facing Jesus will lead us to face ourselves and to find healing for what we’ve broken. So close your eyes now, and call to mind a crucifix, perhaps one that is very special to you. Hold it in your mind’s eye. Look at it very closely. If you take your time and do not hurry, Jesus will begin to speak to you from that cross. He will explain that he had to die, not because God wanted revenge on a sinful world, but because freely giving his life was the only way to draw you near, the only way to prove that God’s love for you has no limits and no preconditions. He just loves you! Even before you were born, he knew all the selfish things you would do someday, yet he loved you anyway and gave his life so that you could have a life. But as powerful as his love is, your healing can’t begin until you open your heart to him. And that’s what he’s asking of you now: “Will you take me to your heart and make a permanent place there for me? Will you work with me to find healing for those old wounds of yours?” The choice is yours. Say, “Yes!” And keep your eyes on him always. As you work with him, you’ll slowly grow into his likeness. Step by step, your heart will heal. And you too will become a healer! Lord Jesus, inflame my heart with your love and make me clean and whole in body, mind, and spirit. May I never doubt your love nor cease to tell others of your mercy and compassion. Amen.
Entrance In biblical times people did not touch lepers for fear of contagion. Yet Jesus reached out and touched lepers. He still reaches out to us. Let us approach the Lord now, realizing that we need his healing touch. • Lord, you raise the dead to life in the spirit. Lord, have mercy. • You bring pardon and peace to sinners. Christ, have mercy. • You bring light to those who live in darkness. Lord, have mercy. Prayer of the Faithful Let us now bring our needs before the Lord who in his great compassion reached out to the leper and healed him. God of love and mercy, you know our weakness. May we reach out with joy to grasp the hand you stretch out to us in Christ, and so walk more readily in your ways. We ask this prayer through the same Christ our Lord.