Homily Twelfth Friday of Ordinary Time
Homily Twelfth Friday of Ordinary Time
Leprosy is a terrible disease. It starts with the loss of sensation in some part of the body. The muscles waste away. Ulceration of the hands and feet follows. Fingers and toes fall off until a whole hand or foot may drop off. The voice becomes hoarse. Breathing is wheezy. Death may take thirty years.
Once diagnosed, the leper was expected to leave home and live separate from the rest of humanity. A leper was considered so unclean that if they even looked across the threshold of a house the whole house was rendered unclean.
In the Middle ages when a person was diagnosed with leprosy the individual was brought to the church and the funeral rite was read for the person. They were, in for all practical purposes, dead.
We have many diseases that have been greatly feared in the history of the world. We can think of polio for example. When people contracted polio in the middle of the 20th century it was a terrible blow. It might kill a person or in might render them unable to walk. I remember having a child in my first-grade classroom who wore braces because of her polio. As children, we were unsure why she suffered so.
Today we are dealing with a terrible disease called COVID 19. Like leprosy and polio, we don’t understand everything about this disease. Because of that, we are very fearful.
Few of us have taken so many precautions before. The isolation we feel is a taste of what lepers felt in the time of Jesus. But what does Jesus do? He reaches out and touches the Leper.
Jesus is with us in this time of fear and trembling. He says to us, “I am with you. Do not be afraid.” When we are afraid to touch each other he still touches us with his presence.
Reflection Questions:
1. Have I ever felt about a disease like I feel about the Coronavirus? What is my biggest fear?
2. How would Jesus act if he were in our world today? Would he wear a mask and social distance, or would he ignore such practices?
Dear Parishioners,
We have scheduled liturgies for First Communion and Confirmation. First Communion will be July 12th at 2 p.m. and July 19th at 2 p.m. Confirmation will be July 25th at 1 p.m. and July 26th at 2 p.m. If you know of any child who should be receiving these sacraments, have them call our office to get more information if they have not signed up yet.
Since our children have had to wait so long to receive these sacraments, they may need encouragement from their relatives to follow through. We would like to celebrate the sacraments of initiation with them before the new school year begins.
If you would like to come to Mass, this weekend in the church please call and sign-up. Inside liturgies will be Saturday at 4 p.m., Sunday at 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. We can allow about 125 people inside the church. An outside Mass will be at 9 a.m. Sunday at Culemans Hall. Sign-up is not necessary for the 9 a.m. Mass. We ask that everyone wear masks to whatever liturgy they come to.
May Mary and the Angels and Saints watch over you today.
Fr. Mark