Be Made Clean
Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
Read this Gospel passage aloud to the family
Mark 1:40-45 – A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched the leper, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.” The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean. Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once. Then he said to him, “See that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.” The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter. He spread the report abroad so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly. He remained outside in deserted places, and people kept coming to him from everywhere.
(Parent) Reread this part a few times aloud
“I do will it. Be made clean.”
(Parent) Read this meditation aloud to the family
What an awesome man that leper must have been! He had a terrible disease which affected or dominated most every aspect of his life. But his faith was great. Amidst all his suffering he trusted that the Lord knew best and left his request in the Lord’s hands. “If you wish, you can make me clean.”
Suffering only exists because of sin. God never wills suffering. But God does allow suffering. Why? Why would God allow suffering? God allows suffering (and sin) because He has the power to turn it to good. Take the Cross for example: in the Cross, the foremost example of sin and suffering becomes the way to our salvation. God allows us to suffer because He has a greater purpose in mind. As He tells the leper, “I do will it”—he also wills our healing. May we trust God, like the leper, knowing that whatever we are facing, God always works for what is absolutely best for us (Romans 8:38).
As a family, pray a portion of the Rosary together (very short if children are young) reflecting on the Scripture passage above. (Optional: allow a brief time for discussion or questions from children concerning their thoughts and prayer.)
Reminder for Parents: Pier is just meant to be a jumping off point. The real goal is that you pray & eventually use the fruits of your personal prayer as the content of your family’s prayer. Duc in altum.
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