28th Sunday C: 10 Lepers

6th Sunday B: Healing of Leprosy & Other Discriminations

 

28th Sunday C: 10 Lepers: Liturgical Prayers

  Greetings

May all of you who are chosen by God, be saved by Jesus Christ, our Risen Lord, and share in his eternal glory. May Jesus our Lord be with you. R/ And also with you.

28th Sunday C: 10 Lepers

 

28th Sunday C - Ten Lepers

From Fr. Jude Botelho:

The first reading is from a collection of stories about the prophet Elisha. In today’s reading Naaman, a army general of Syria, who had a skin disease, hears of Elisha’s fame and comes to Israel to be cured by him. Naaman had high expectations of Elisha but he was disappointed. Elisha did not even come out to welcome him and made, what appeared to Naaman to be a silly recommendation, – to bathe in the Jordan seven times. Initially Namaan hesitated but conforming to the pleas of his servants, performed the commanded ritual and was made clean. Today’s reading takes up the story. After his cure Naaman immediately did two things. He acknowledges that the God of Israel is the only God. Secondly, he is full of gratitude and wants to give Elisha a fitting reward, which Elisha refuses. When Elisha declines Naaman asked for some Israelite earth to carry home, on which holy ground he could stand before an altar for continual praise of Israel’s God.

6 Sunday B: Leper

Fr. Jude Botelho: 

The first reading from Leviticus describes the terrible plight of the lepers in the Old Testament. The leper was considered unclean and had to proclaim that he was unclean, by his dress, appearance and voice. As long as anyone was suffering from this disease he was ostracized and had to live outside human dwellings. More fearful than the disease were the social effects of being an outcast shunned by society. In Israel, leprosy was considered as the ultimate punishment for sin. Though leprosy is curable today, it is still dreaded and we keep away from lepers. We still have lepers close by - people who, for one reason or another, are defined by their condition and not treated as people -the homeless, the unattractive, many diseased, the armless, the twisted body, people with Aids. Perhaps we need to remind ourselves also that we ourselves are often, in one way or another, inwardly leprous.

28th Sunday C - 10 Lepers

1. The Seeds of Discouragement: 

An old legend tells how a man once stumbled upon a great red barn after wandering for days in a forest in the dark. He was seeking refuge from the howling winds of a storm. He entered the barn and his eyes grew accustomed to the dark. To his astonishment, he discovered that this was the barn where the devil kept his storehouse of seeds. They were the seeds that were sown in the hearts of humans. The man became curious and lit a match. He began exploring the piles of bins of seeds round him. He couldn't help but notice that the greatest majority of them said, "Seeds of Discouragement." 

Caring for ostracized community

Story By: Saji Thomas

The ostracized people

Bhopal: “This is my new life and I am indebted to my Ma [mother],” says Gundeli Bai, who has lost fingers on both hands due to leprosy. “I would have died, and my body could have been eaten by dogs long ago,” says Bai, who has been living for more than two decades in an enclave for leprosy patients started by her “Ma,” Sr. Julia Thundathil.