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Master·evangeli.net

Today's Gospel + short theological explanation

Thursday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
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Gospel text (Mt 9:1-8): Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Courage, child, your sins are forgiven.” At that, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming...”

God’s greatest power: to forgive sins

Fr. Antoni CAROL i Hostench (Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain)

Today, while seeing the faith of those who were helping the paralytic, Jesus reacts by healing his paralysis (a miracle!) and forgiving his sins (another miracle!). The scribes are hardly affected by the extraordinary "medical healing", but they are truly shocked —actually, irritated— because of the “moral healing”. The reaction of the scribes attracts our attention because, in our case, we should be amazed by the first miracle, not by the second one.

However, this reaction, while a wrong one, is a lesson. The believer’s mentality of those Jews allows them to understand that to forgive sins —as an offense to the divinity— is something so big, so big, that it belongs only to God. If Jesus can forgive sins, it means the He is God. To help us understand it He also healed the physical paralysis. Still, the most mysterious thing is that man may oppose God but He continues to wait patiently for us.

—O Lord, you demonstrate your omnipotence by emerging as our merciful Father, always ready to freely forgive —for nobody could force you to do it— our "dis-affection".

December 29th
Feast of The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph (C)

Gospel and commentary video

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December 28th
Feast of the Holy Innocents, martyrs

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December 27th
Feast of Saint John, Apostle and evangelist

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