Why do people often prefer spiritual leprosy rather than have recourse to the Heart of Jesus?

Newsdesk (13/02/2024 18:26, Gaudium Press)  Leprosy is a terrible disease that was once very feared and repulsed, either because of the horrifying physical suffering it caused, or because of the social exclusion it brought, or because – most of the time – it was an incurable disease. Nowadays, however, it is not as fearsome as in the past, due to advances in science that have made it possible to cure it.

However, there is another representation of this same disease, but with a more contagious aspect that continues to spread in our society: sin, which causes horrors, scandals and absurdities in the moral order.

People seem to care less about this spiritual illness, even though its evils are far worse than those caused by physical leprosy.

What is the solution for those who, for whatever reason, find themselves in this state?

A heart that is pleasing to God

In the Gospel for this 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time, we find a situation that gives us an answer to the problem: a leper comes before Our Lord asking for healing:

“A leper came to him begging him, and kneeling he said to him,“If you choose, you can make me clean” (Mk 1:40).

It was normal for a leper to feel ashamed and frightened of his situation, wary of approaching a healthy person, let alone coming before the Incarnate Word – at once so very approachable, because of His compassion, and so far above, on account of His greatness and majesty! However, the leper, recognising his misery, went to Jesus and asked for a miracle.

“Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, “I do choose. Be made clean! Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean” (Mk 1:41-42).

Our Lord took pity on him, because he had seen that the man was not afraid to approach Him, recognizing his pitiful situation on his knees and showing faith in Christ’s power.

Because of this trusting attitude, the Heart of Jesus, rich in Mercy, was moved with love for the destitute man who begged Him for healing.

Regarding this attitude of the leper, St. Bede comments: “He kneels, falling on his face, which is a sign of humility and shame, in order that each of us may also be ashamed of the stains of our life. This shame, however, does not prevent his confession: he shows the wound and asks for the remedy, and the confession itself is full of religion and faith. ‘If you want,’ he says, ‘you can cleanse me’; in other words, he has put his trust in the will of the Lord. He didn’t doubt God’s will like an ungodly man, but like one who knows how unworthy he is of it, because of the stains that blemish him”[1].

Now, how many there are who don’t recognize their faults or turn to Our Lord, and throw themselves into meeting the demands of a world which, by the way, often prefers sin.

How unpleasant this is in God’s eyes!

Testimony of Sister Josefa Menéndez

Once, the distinguished devotee of the Heart of Jesus, Sister Josefa Menéndez, was saying thanksgiving at Holy Mass, when she saw in a vision the Heart of Jesus crowned with thorns, surrounded by a flame, and then, seeing Our Lord with His arms open, she heard these words from His divine lips: “Yes, Josefa, I only want the love of souls, but they respond with ingratitude. I would like to shower them with graces, [but] they pierce My Heart. I call them: they flee far from Me.”[2] And on another occasion, He confided to her: “It is the lack of love that wounds Me so, it is the contempt of men who run like madmen to perdition.”[3]

And so, we must always get down on our knees and ask for divine help and forgiveness. This Sunday’s liturgy, in the person of the leper, is an encouragement to us: let us have recourse to the Sacrament of Penance.

May the merciful Jesus, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, give us a docile, humble and trusting heart to follow the path of virtue, or of penance, like the repentant leper.

 By Guilherme Motta

[1]  SAINT BEDE. In Marci Evangelium Expositio. L. I, c. 1: ML 92, 144.

[2] MENÉNDEZ, Josefa. Apelo ao amor (The Way of Divine Love). 3 ed. Rio de Janeiro: Rio São Paulo, 1952, p. 101.

[3] Id., p. 136.

Compiled by Roberta MacEwan