1.17.13

Lectio: Mk 2:1-12

Meditatio: "he [Jesus] said to the paralytic, ‘I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home’." Mk 2.11

O God, we are so thick and slow to comprehend!

I remember Your Son had already cured many before the paralytic’s four friends brought him to you and Your Son’s first reaction was to forgive him of his sins - and the religious leaders all cried out blasphemy!

Grant that I may imitate Your Son’s patience with them, for He then healed the man, to show He had divine authority - yet the religious leaders would soon forget and sought His death.

I ask these and all things through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with the

Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.

Contemplatio: Keep silence and remain in recollection for a few minutes.

Operatio: reflect on "forgive sins"; only God has this power; Jesus showed that He was God in the healing miracle of the paralytic and He forgave the man without the man even asking for it - how merciful is our God! In prayer may I always be mindful of Your mercy and readily seek it whenever I have the misfortune of sinning.

Tomorrow's reading: Mk 2:13-17