Daily Gospel Reflection for January 17, 2019

Today's Gospel: Mark 1:40-45 - St. Anthony, Abbot In today’s Gospel, Jesus heals a leper, and even though Jesus tells him not to tell others of his healing, he can’t help but run out and proclaim it to others. His proclamations of healing are so widespread and exuberant that he attracts new followers to Jesus who can then no longer go into town openly without being swarmed by people. When I read this, I thought of my friend Christy Wilkens and her son Oscar, whom I met on pilgrimage to Lourdes. I was there with the Order of Malta, and 18-month-old Oscar was my assigned malade (the French term for sick person). Oscar suffered from seizures and many developmental delays. After his immersion in the baths at Lourdes, he did not have a full healing. However, his condition improved dramatically over the next few days and weeks. In fact, his changes seemed so miraculous that Christy couldn’t help but tell her son’s story over and over again. While we may not all experience miraculous healings in our lives, we have experienced God’s healing grace. Have we been excited enough about these wonderful things God has done for us that we’ve felt compelled to share them with others? In our world today, it seems the Catholic Church has an awful lot of negative press out there. Much of what is discussed about our Church is about the bad things that are happening. But we know that God continues to do amazing things for us. Are we sharing those things with others? Think today about how you can share a little piece of good news about how Christ has worked in your life—no matter how small or large that healing may be.

Ponder:

Am I attracting others to Christ by sharing the positive things God has done for me?

Pray:

Lord, help me to recognize all the ways You heal me—whether it be mentally, physically, spiritually, or emotionally.

Copyright 2019 Amy Cattapan A.J. Cattapan is an award-winning author, speaker, and teacher. Her debut novel Angelhood has won two awards, and her second novel, Seven Riddles to Nowhere, tells the story of a boy trying to save his Catholic school from closing. She is also the host of BOOK.eD, a Catholic book review program on Shalom World TV. Follow her at ajcattapan.com. Receive CatholicMom.com newsletters in your inbox, including the Daily Gospel Reflection each morning! * indicates required