A Reading for the Holy Gospel according to Mark
A leper came to Jesus and kneeling down begged him and said,
“If you wish, you can make me clean.”
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,
touched him, and said to him,
“I do will it. Be made clean.”
The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.
Then, warning the him sternly, he dismissed him at once.
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.
Look, let’s be honest.
How many times have we prayed/asked/badgered/pestered Jesus to do something in our lives, help us with something, or intervene in a situation? A bunch? Ditto.
How many times have we griped that our prayers and requests were not answered like we envisioned? If you’re like me…it’s a nice gaggle of them.
If you’ve ever struggled with any of the things I just mentioned above, I invite you to picture this: You’re suffering from an ailment that isn’t only outwardly ostracizing you from a community, like leprosy, but it’s also internally ostracizing you from properly resting in your identity. You feel alone, lost, abandoned, forgotten… and then BOOM! You run into The Healer. You beg with fervent humility to be healed, inside and out, and your prayer is heard! You are seen. You are cured. You are restored. Then The Healer looks at you, the recipient of His divine healing, takes a deep breath, smiles at you and says “Cool, don’t tell anyone anything…alright? Catch ya later!”
Huh?!
If I ran into the Savior of the world and He healed me miraculously…but then told me mum’s the word… What would I do? How would I react? Would I run out like the healed leper and shout from every street that the Lord is good, He is a Healer and He is who He says He is? Would I gush about the powers of what expectant faith can accomplish?
This task , dear brothers and sisters, is something we often like to think we would excel with. Of course we would boast of the Lord’s power to come through, heal and restore …especially when we’re experiencing joy, consolation and answered prayers. But, do we also hold this same mentality and outward practice of singing the Lord’s praises when we are in a spiritual desert, a season of desolation or when death, illness and human error pierce our hearts?
In the moments where the silence is deafening, the stillness is numbing and the Lord’s presence feels lacking, will we have expectant faith of His healing? Will we have expectant faith that what He has promised will come to fruition? That what He has spoken is true? That the restoration He has assured will come to light? Will we still spread the word of the Lord’s goodness, faithfulness and providence, even in the midst of our suffering where we are tempted to doubt?
The leper, who fell at the feet of the Lord, came kneeling with expectant hope and unshakable faith that The Divine Physician could restore him if it was His will. When we let go of our firm grasp of control for our lives and our will, we encounter the merciful gaze of the Father of Abundance. He desires so fervently to douse us in His never-ending graces and mercies, dear friends.
This week in prayer, invite the Lord into your honest suffering—not the perfectly portioned tidy version. How is the Lord asking you to dive deeper into understanding His will this season? What is the Lord speaking during this season of your life? How is He asking you to evangelize to His beloved through what you are experiencing?
About the Author: Michaelyn McGinnis is a Baton Rouge native that has always dreamed of pursuing a career in ministry. After graduating from LSU with a dual degrees in communications studies and religious studies, she became a missionary with Dumb Ox Ministries, a world-renown Theology of the Body powerhouse. She currently serves as the Director of Christian Formation and Sacramental Record Keeping at St. Jude the Apostle Catholic Church and works diligently at the parish level to bring Jesus to each soul she encounters, especially the youth. Her favorite things include coffee, tacos, laughing until she can’t breathe and doing rad activities such as rock climbing and playing beach volleyball. Michaelyn’s greatest passion is music and she hopes one day to travel around with her friends making music that allows others to experience pure joy.
Coffee Order: HOT with frothed oat milk and vanilla Vital Proteins powder and/or vanilla creamer (alternative milks for the WINNNNN)
Favorite Saint (at the moment): Hecking Boss Man JP2. I literally have a tattoo of his handwriting on my human body and that should suffice on why he is my fav.
Top Three Songs You’re Listening To: “Golden Hour” by Champagne Lane,” Don’t Forget Where You Came From” by The Dirty Guv’nahs, & “Bold as Love” by John Mayer and a new fav “‘Till I Found You (House Sessions)” by Phil Wickham
Favorite Song from the Gather Hymnal (aka your favorite traditional church song): HANDS DOWN Wade in the Water
The Well is a weekly reflection series from Red Stick Catholics that was created to allow young adults from the Diocese of Baton Rouge to reveal how God is speaking to them through prayer and Scripture. Each reflection contains the upcoming Sunday’s Gospel, a reflection written by a young adult from the Diocese of Baton Rouge and prompts for how to pray with the Gospel and reflection during the week. If you are interested in writing a reflection, please email Nicole at [email protected] .