Reflection for January 15 Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary Time: Mark 1:40-45

Gospel 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.

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Reflection:

What moves us to go to Jesus?

The leper went to Jesus, knelt before Him, and begged with a humble heart, “If You wish, You can make me clean.” And immediately, he was healed. In this simple yet powerful moment, we are invited to pause and ask ourselves: what truly moves a person to come before the Lord?

Was it merely the gravity of his sickness? No. It was not his leprosy that brought him to Jesus. Something far deeper and far greater moved him—it was his profound faith in the Lord. For if he had no faith, he would never have dared to approach Jesus at all.

And what moved Jesus to heal him? Was it simply the sight of suffering? No. It was not the sickness itself that touched the heart of the Lord, but the faith of the one who came to Him trusting, hoping, and believing.

So we ask ourselves today: what brings us to Jesus? Why do we pray? Do we come to Him only when we are burdened by problems or weighed down by sickness? Surely, our needs and struggles may lead us to kneel before Him—but they must never be the deepest reason. More than anything else, it must always be our faith in Him that draws us near.

Let us then examine our hearts. Let us make sure that faith—living, trusting, and persevering faith—is the true force that moves us to seek the Lord and to remain in His presence. For the more we allow faith to lead us to Jesus, the more we open our hearts to His mercy, His healing, and His saving grace.

So we ask ourselves, not only today but every day: when we kneel in prayer and call upon His name, is it merely our pain that moves us—or is it a faith that truly trusts, surrenders, and believes? – Marino J. Dasmarinas