This last Gospel in Ordinary Time before Lent begins illustrates the healing power and compassion of Christ—and it’s a good message for us today in the midst of our own pandemic’s isolation. Christ crosses the boundary of illnesses and heals a man suffering with leprosy, man who would be required to isolate from his community and even rip his clothes and announce his presence to anyone coming near. Think how isolating and debilitating that would be, standing outside Fitzgerald’s and—yelling “I am unclean, stay away for your safety.” Today, we might be isolated for different reasons, but still the isolation is difficult and it is debilitating for many, if not all.

Christ touched the leper, healed him physically and then sent him back reconnecting to the community so that the healing was not just a physical one but also a collective and spiritual one. Christ’s healing was His essence: He was present to the leper not by way of a hope-filled desire or a fond memory, but in the here and now. Christ is still present to us today, He is present in the Church and through her Sacramental life. Today we still see isolation—yes in sickness but also in sin and prejudice and other isolating forms. But it is in compassion, forgiveness and mercy that Christ’s healing presence is among us. We just need to reach out and ask for it. Let us now prepare to begin the Lenten journey anew.