Friday after Epiphany
"Lk 5:12-16"
There came a man full of leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and besought him, "Lord, if you will, you can make me clean." And he stretched out his hand, and touched him, saying, "I will; be clean." And immediately the leprosy left him. And he charged him to tell no one; but "go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to the people."
Do you see how simple the miracle is? "If you will... I will: And immediately the leprosy left him." You know that in those days lepers had to cover themselves from the crown of their head to the soles of their feet. They were forbidden to show any skin at all, to avoid contaminating other people. This man fell on his face and asked for Mercy. Jesus touched him and his leprosy was gone for ever. So simple. But Jesus' miracle included the fulfilment of a commandment: "go and show yourself to the priest."
We must learn to come to Jesus with that same simplicity, showing Him our leprosy (our sins) in Confession. In this Sacrament Jesus touches your wounds and heals them. But you need to "show yourself to the priest." You have to unveil your wounds (your sins) as you do with the doctor. Don't cover up... show yourself without fear, because the Divine Doctor has to see the wound to heal it, and He has entrusted that mission to priests.
We should help people go to Confession more frequently, to show their 'wounds' before they get 'infected', not to wait too long. Like with doctors, regular checkups can prevent serious sickness. John Paul I tells the story of Jonathan Swift's servant, who refused to wash the mud off his master's boots after a long trip because he considered it a waste of time: "They'll only get dirty again," he said. Swift said nothing until the next morning, when he announced he wanted to set out immediately. His servant protested he hadn't had breakfast. "So what?" Swift replied. "You'll only be hungry again!" Yes. If we go to Confession we will have more sins to confess in a while. But our soul is like the windscreen of a car. It gets dirty little by little with midges, gnats and bugs. If you don't clean it often you can't see properly and eventually you risk having a crash. Mary, Virgin Mother of Mercy, help me to proclaim the inexhaustible Mercy of God: all the sins of all men of all times together are but a speck of dust in the ocean of His Mercy.
