Daily Gospel Reflection
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January 16, 2020
A leper came to Jesus and kneeling down begged him, saying, “If you choose, you can make me clean.” 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.
After sternly warning him he sent him away at once, saying to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so that Jesus could no longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter.
When I read Jesus’s words from today’s gospel—“I do choose. Be made clean!”—I realized I had heard these same words myself many times in one form or another.
I first heard them at my Baptism, when the stain of original sin was wiped away. I hear them in every celebration of the Eucharist, as Christ continually offers himself so that our sins may be forgiven. I hear them in the absolution we receive during Reconciliation. In each instance, Jesus speaks these same words again to each of us: “I do choose. Be made clean!”
I can imagine myself as the leper, looking up at Christ as he looks upon me with pity, loves me, and washes me clean. No matter how diseased my sins cause me to become, how undeserving I feel, or how many times I come back, begging and kneeling, the mercy of God is infinite. The answer will always be the same. All we need to do is recognize our brokenness and approach the Lord with the same faith and humility that this man shows.
May we also join him in “proclaiming freely” the mercy we have received, and live with joy and thanksgiving. Two weeks into the New Year, let us challenge ourselves to live with the faith of the leper and embrace the joy of knowing God is always “stretching out his hand” towards us with mercy.
Prayer
Protect us, Lord, from thinking that our healing depends on the strength and frequency of our prayers. Help us remember and proclaim to the world by our lives that through your Son you will it now and always that we be made and remain clean of heart and spirit. We make this prayer in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Titian was born in the middle of the sixth century in Italy to a family of nobles. He was educated by Bishop Floriano of Oderzo and later ordained by him. He devoted himself to serving the poor, and also served as a treasurer of the diocese of Oderzo (a see that no longer exists). When Floriano was moved to another diocese, Titian was chosen the new bishop by popular acclaim. He resisted, trying to get Floriano to return, but eventually assumed the new pastoral responsibilities.
He was a devout man who modeled a holy life for his people and was known as an excellent preacher. Many miracles were said to have occurred at his tomb in Oderzo, and a small relic from St. Titian rests in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.
The main body of his relics are the subject of an interesting story. When Oderzo was sacked by invading forces, people from the saint’s hometown of Eraclea tried to steal his relics, which were kept in a bronze urn. A fierce battle between people from Eraclea and Oderzo erupted over the relics and both towns agreed to a unique solution. They placed his relics in a wagon pulled by oxen, and decided that wherever the oxen stopped is where his relics would be housed. The oxen stopped in a town called Ceneda, and his relics remain there today.
St. Titian of Oderzo, you were the faithful bishop who led his people by word and example—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Titian of Oderzo is available for use under a Creative Commons license. Last accessed November 14, 2024 on Wikimedia Commons.
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