June 30, Friday of the 12th week in Ordinary Time
Daily Readings: Genesis 17; 1,9-10,15-22; Gospel: Matthew 8:5-17
Prayer is conversing with God from the heart. It is the most effective way of humbling ourselves before the one who has power over us. With faith, we sometimes close our eyes and feel the words we say with teary eyes. We believe he is listening, but we also understand that we rely on his will and wait for our prayers to be granted in his own time.
In today's Gospel reading, we can dwell on a leper man begging Jesus to heal his wounds. “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” He surrenders himself and his will to Jesus. He said: “ If you wish, Lord.” This is an act of humility and total surrender on the part of the sick person. His suffering is physical, moral, psychological, and spiritual. Nobody would want him. He is alone, lonely, isolated, and abandoned. The only hope he has is Jesus, the healer.
My experience with the Hansinites (lepers) did help me understand their difficult situation. Their own families abandoned the majority of them. Some others were the only survivors in the family. The stigma from society still affects them psychologically, making them sad and lonely. They still have difficulty integrating into the community where they live. They became prisoners of their sickness.
One handsome and elegant young man came for consultation at the hospital. He was complaining of his itchy, reddish dots. After two days, the result came out that he had to have 3 stage leprosy. The world fell for him, and with him, I cried. At the peak of his success in work, he got sick, went to different skin doctors, and was given creams and medicines, but to no avail. He went to the quack doctors (faith healers), but nothing happened.
As if I lost my breath when I knew he had committed suicide the day after. Every day I visit him in the ward and talk to him, but most of the time, there is no conversation. We both understood that it was enough to look him in the eye. Then I prayed to God, “Lord, if you wish, you can heal him.”
Let our prayers be, “Lord, if you wish, you can help me clean. Amen”
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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