First Reading
Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46

1. Compare and contrast the way lepers were treated in the Old Testament (First Reading) with the way Jesus treated them (Gospel).

2. In those days ritual demanded that if you had the sore of leprosy you had to “tear your clothes, be excluded, made to live apart from those you love, and you were forced to announce your presence by shouting, ‘Unclean.’” Not to this extreme, but are some people treated in a similar way today? Give examples.

Second Reading
1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1

1. Paul says, “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.” In which of your day’s activities is it easy for you to remember the presence of God? Which are difficult? Can you gradually remember the presence of God in all your actions?

2. In Paul’s time, when Christians sat down to share meals, there were a lot of problems, caused by different religious backgrounds and practices. How does the statement “do everything for the glory of God” work for you as a solution when there is a decision about how to act?

Gospel
Mark 1:40-45

1. “Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, ‘I do will it. Be made clean.’” Are you moved with pity in any of the “unclean” situations we are experiencing in our world: Pandemic? Climate crises? Racial injustice? Trafficking? Is there anything you can do to aid Jesus with the cleansing?

2. In his homily at Santa Marta on Jan. 22, 2015, Pope Francis spoke about the many people Jesus had cured like the leper in today’s Gospel. How are those healings fitting for you today?

Jesus saves! these healings, these words that reach the heart, are the sign and the beginning of salvation—the path of salvation for many who begin to go to hear Jesus or to ask for a healing and then come back to him and feel salvation [The most important thing] is that he saves! Jesus ascended to the Father, and from thence he continues to intercede, every day, every moment for us.

This is relevant today, … and so it is that every day, Jesus intercedes. When we, for one thing or the other, are feeling a little down, let us remember that it is he who prays for us, intercedes for us continually. So many times we forget this: Jesus ... but yes, it’s finished, he’s gone to heaven, sent us the Holy Spirit, the story’s over? No! Even now, in every moment, Jesus intercedes. In this prayer: “Lord Jesus, only have mercy on me,” he intercedes for me. Turn to the Lord, asking for this intercession.

Morning meditation in the chapel of the
Domus Sanctae Marthae
January 22, 2015