Mt 8,1-4 – Friday of the XII Week of Ordinary Time
«And behold, a leper came and prostrated himself to him saying: “Lord, if you want, you can heal me”. And Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him and said: “I want it, be purified”. Today’s Gospel delivers us one of the most moving gestures of Jesus. Leprosy made a person impure and untouchable. Everyone kept their distance. Jesus instead shortens that distance.
Even before healing his illness, he heals his loneliness. Even before restoring his health, it gives him back his dignity. It is the way God loves: not from afar, but by personally involving himself in our suffering. The words of Jesus are also important: “I want it”. How many times do we think of God as someone to convince, to persuade or to take pity on. This leper, however, discovers that the desire to be healed is no greater than Jesus’ desire to save him.
God is not a cold dispenser of graces. It is someone who takes our life seriously, who enters into our wounds and who desires our good much more than we ourselves can desire it. After the miracle, Jesus does not seek publicity, he does not fuel sensationalism, he does not turn that event into a spectacle. Instead he asks the man to present himself to the priests according to what the Law prescribes. It is a call to humility and gratitude. True faith does not live by special effects, but by the silent recognition of God’s work.
Many times we would like a God who manifests himself through extraordinary events. The Gospel teaches us instead that the greatest miracle is the love with which Christ approaches our fragility. God works wonders, but often he does it in silence, in discretion, in everyday life. And mature faith does not consist in chasing what is sensational, but in knowing how to recognize and welcome its presence in the simple things of every day.
Friday 26 June 2026 – (Friday of the XII Week of Ordinary Time – Even Year)
