Dear Friends:
I thank you for reading our “Sharing Faith Blog.” This blog is dedicated to having parishioners share a reflection concerning something about their faith or sharing a reflection regarding a reading from the Liturgy of the Word for Sunday Mass. I thank Frances Pietschmann for her reflection on the Gospel from Mass on February 11, 2018, (Mark 1:40-45).
Respectfully yours in Christ,
Fr. Tom Morgan
Pastor
Frances Pietschmann:
I am a retired snowbird from cottage country, Ontario, Canada. Our home is situated about 2.5 hours N.E. of Toronto, on Lake Chandos. We attend a century-old parish church whose population, during the summer months, swells to about 75 (cottagers and locals) at the one
Sunday morning Mass. St. Jerome’s is a joyful contrast to our little parish. What an extensive buffet of services this church offers. I am truly blessed to be here to partake at St. Jerome’s, and always grateful for the warmth of its parishioners.
Both the first reading and the gospel of today discuss the disfiguring disease of leprosy. Lepers in both the OT and NT were treated as outcasts for fear of contagion. In the gospel a leper breaches custom and protocol by approaching Our Lord for a cure. Our Lord, in turn, also breaks the cultural
taboo by touching him. I can just imagine the shock on the bystanders’ faces.” Oh no, what is this Nazarene doing???” And then Our Lord, in his infinite compassion, heals the leper both physically and spiritually. Again, the witnesses to this scene must have been shaken to their very core by this
miracle. We don’t know why Jesus admonishes the leper not to publicize his healing. Perhaps it wasn’t the right time in Jesus’ mission. But as we know, the leper just couldn’t contain his joy! Our Lord is never revulsed or repulsed by our own “leprosy”, our sins. He wants to touch us and
embrace us and mercifully heal our souls in confession. And Oh the joy of being made clean again. And He doesn’t admonish us to stay quiet about the joy of our healing. He wants us to go forth and share the good news! The time is right, and the time is now!
I thank you for reading our “Sharing Faith Blog.” This blog is dedicated to having parishioners share a reflection concerning something about their faith or sharing a reflection regarding a reading from the Liturgy of the Word for Sunday Mass. I thank Frances Pietschmann for her reflection on the Gospel from Mass on February 11, 2018, (Mark 1:40-45).
Respectfully yours in Christ,
Fr. Tom Morgan
Pastor
Frances Pietschmann:
I am a retired snowbird from cottage country, Ontario, Canada. Our home is situated about 2.5 hours N.E. of Toronto, on Lake Chandos. We attend a century-old parish church whose population, during the summer months, swells to about 75 (cottagers and locals) at the one
Sunday morning Mass. St. Jerome’s is a joyful contrast to our little parish. What an extensive buffet of services this church offers. I am truly blessed to be here to partake at St. Jerome’s, and always grateful for the warmth of its parishioners.
Both the first reading and the gospel of today discuss the disfiguring disease of leprosy. Lepers in both the OT and NT were treated as outcasts for fear of contagion. In the gospel a leper breaches custom and protocol by approaching Our Lord for a cure. Our Lord, in turn, also breaks the cultural
taboo by touching him. I can just imagine the shock on the bystanders’ faces.” Oh no, what is this Nazarene doing???” And then Our Lord, in his infinite compassion, heals the leper both physically and spiritually. Again, the witnesses to this scene must have been shaken to their very core by this
miracle. We don’t know why Jesus admonishes the leper not to publicize his healing. Perhaps it wasn’t the right time in Jesus’ mission. But as we know, the leper just couldn’t contain his joy! Our Lord is never revulsed or repulsed by our own “leprosy”, our sins. He wants to touch us and
embrace us and mercifully heal our souls in confession. And Oh the joy of being made clean again. And He doesn’t admonish us to stay quiet about the joy of our healing. He wants us to go forth and share the good news! The time is right, and the time is now!
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