Daily Gospel Reflection
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January 11, 2019
It happened that there was a man full of leprosy in one of the towns where Jesus was;
and when he saw Jesus,
he fell prostrate, pleaded with him, and said,
“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.”
And the leprosy left him immediately.
Then he ordered him not to tell anyone, but
“Go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing
what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.”
The report about him spread all the more,
and great crowds assembled to listen to him
and to be cured of their ailments,
but he would withdraw to deserted places to pray.
The healing of the leper in today’s reading is one in a steady stream of amazing miracles described in this section of Luke’s Gospel. In the preceding verses, Jesus fills Simon Peter’s net to overflowing with fish; in the verses immediately afterward he commands a paralyzed man to walk.
When I read the through the Gospel, I marvel at these miraculous demonstrations of God’s power and love. But, in spite of these awe-inspiring acts, it is the final line of today’s Gospel that resonates the most with me: “but he would withdraw to deserted places to pray.” This simple phrase instantly makes me appreciate how human Jesus was.
I work in a lively middle school office and at the end of a busy day of constant interaction with students, parents, and teachers, I often want nothing more than to be completely alone, sitting in silence. I find it positively comforting that Jesus, too, needed solitude to recharge. And I appreciate the reminder that he spent this quiet time in prayer, rejuvenating himself for his next interaction with the crowds who followed him.
As we embark on a new year, let us give ourselves permission to step away from our daily routine and feed our souls with quiet prayer breaks, in order to enable us to be more like Jesus in our daily interactions with others.
Prayer
Help us, Lord, to foster the brilliant light of our faith and trust in you. Forgive us our indifference at times and help us to serve you in our faith and trust. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Vitalis was a hermit monk in Gaza in the 600s. In his old age, he felt called to travel to Alexandria, Egypt, to serve the many prostitutes there. He would work as a laborer during the day, then hire a prostitute with the wages he earned and ask her to spend the night with him without sin. If she would listen, he would ask her to pray and he would teach her about the faith and her human dignity. He made the women promise not to tell anyone about the evening.
This approach led to much controversy and gossip, but every charge was investigated and he was cleared of any impropriety. It was said that many prostitutes were saved to become wives and mothers.
One night, a man misunderstood Vitalis’ intentions at a brothel, and struck him on the head. The monk managed to return to his hut and died alone there from the wound.
In today's world, a group of nuns who pose as prostitutes to rescue women and children from the human trafficking industry—they are known as Talitha Kum and are active in more than 140 countries.
The relics of a martyr named Vitalis rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica, though there are several martyrs with that name in the canon of saints.
St. Vitalis, you died saving prostitutes from exploitation, pray for us!