“Be made clean!”

Today we hear at Holy Mass in the Gospel of St Luke how Jesus cures a Leper….Jesus has compassion for this man and after the man approaches Christ and asks to be made clean…Jesus does as he requested….The Leper in this story clearly understood that something was wrong with him…That he had a disease…That no one other then Jesus Christ could address that disease……Now let’s apply this idea to us….We are sinners…No matter who you are…Even the best of us are sinners…We are born with original sin and we live our life with human weakness, which leaves us vulnerable to sin….Jesus who is God knew this…So what did he do?….He established a Church….We forget far too easily that Jesus did not write a book…The bible as we know it came 400 years after the death of Christ…Jesus established a Church…Which he gave authority to forgive sins…..So why do we not take advantage of this gift?…Like the leper in today’s story…..We can not cleanse our self…..This is the mistake of modern man….He carries the burden of sin upon his shoulders, not knowing what to do with it…..The only solution to “that problem” we all have is allowing Christ through the Sacrament of Reconciliation to absolve that sin……..“Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I do will it.  Be made clean.” .......American Christianity is under the delusion that once we proclaim Christ “Our Lord and Savior” that somehow every sin we ever committed or will ever commit is automatically wiped away……This is a delusion…Its only through the Sacraments, first Baptism and then through frequent Confessions with a priest that we are absolved from sins…..This is also how we grow in virtue and open our soul up to the grace of the Blessed Sacrament received at Mass…..Because all of us are sinners, we should NEVER underestimate the pull of sin and the depth of our fallen nature…This is why we MUST cleave to Christ and his Church…..Just as the leper was cleaned today in the Gospel of St Matthew……We too can be cleansed...…..”And the leprosy left him immediately”…..What a gift - Why not take full advantage of it?!?

“Jesus proclaimed the Gospel of the Kingdom and cured every disease among the people.”

By my office building in Manhattan there is a Catholic Church where I go to daily Mass on my lunch hour…I also go to Confession there two times every month…..At my job I work with a good friend of mine who happens to be a fallen away Catholic…..Robert is his name……Robert is a good man who reads Scripture and believes in Christ, however, because he is away from the Catholic Church, he does not receive the benefit of the Sacraments…..Just a few days ago, I went to Confession after Mass and headed back to my office…Robert was there when I returned and I wanted to tell him just how good it feels after one confesses their sins Sacramentally, how the grace of the Sacrament is tangibly felt….This is not some “psychological delusion” as many today “think”……While I wanted to share concept with Robert, I felt he probably would not receive it well, so the Holy Spirit direct me not to say anything…But the sentiment was there and still is there for Robert and the entire world to experience the peace and joy of resting in Christ after confessing their sins….Siting at my desk, I thought to myself - How blessed I am to be Catholic!……What a gift it is to be Catholic in this world……Does the reader of this reflection feel the same way?……And if you do not - Maybe its because you are carrying a burden, like the leper was in today’s Gospel story by St Matthew…My bet is, if you are freed of that burden, through the Sacrament of reconciliation, you would think differently about your Catholic faith…..Going to Confession with a priest is a direct encounter with Christ himself….Our Protestant brothers and sisters always talk about their -  “Personal relationship with Jesus Christ” - Well - It does not get any more person then being freed of your sins…Its time to really “get personal”! ……- Don’t you tink?!?..……“Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”  Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I do will it.  Be made clean.” ….What is stopping you? - “Be made clean”!

“He has granted peace in your borders; with the best of wheat he fills you. He sends forth his command to the earth; swiftly runs his word!”

Today St Matthew at Mass tells us a story that the people of his day could relate too….The story about a leper….In our modern world, there are no lepers walking around New York City, however, there are many who do not know the healing power of Christ….This is a tragedy!…..As I walk to my office, as I will do soon today, I see so many faces on the sidewalks of New York City…So many people, carrying so many burdens……As I see this sight, I often think of the words of Christ……..”As he drew near, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If this day you only knew what makes for peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes”….How can we as Catholics convince people of the great gift of our Catholic faith?…How can we convince the world that they are one Sacramental Confession away from peace?…..The only way to communicate this gift is by living our faith…People need to see in real time your peace and joy…And when they ask you….How do you do it?….Your response should be - I am a practicing Catholic….Seeing is believing - We will never argue anyone into the doors of the Catholic Church…But if people “see” the very thing every person on earth longs for - Authentic joy and peace - Maybe the world will second guess choices made and change their mind…..Each and everyone of us, like the leper today in St Matthew Gospel wants to - “Be made Clean”…However, there is only one way to accomplish that desire….The world must “see” for itself the fruit of what it means to be Catholic….St John tells us what that means….”Whoever possesses the Son has life; whoever does not possess the Son of God does not have life”…..Far too many people are walking around “dead on their feet”….Only Christ can give them life - But if the world does not “see” Christ in us - How will they believe in the only cure for their “condition”……..Our life must “speak” of that cure…..“Be made clean!”………….JMJ