Today, the Gospel presents us with a leper, full of pain and aware of his illness, who approaches Jesus and says, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean” (Mt 8:2). We too, seeing the Lord so near yet feeling our heads, hearts, and hands so far from His plan of salvation, should feel eager and able to utter the same plea as the leper: "Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean" (Mt 8:2).

However, a question arises: Can a society that lacks a sense of sin ask the Lord for forgiveness? Can it request any form of purification? We all know many people who suffer and whose hearts are wounded, but their tragedy is that they are not always aware of their personal situation. Despite everything, Jesus is always with us (cf. Mt 28:20), waiting for the same request: " Lord, if you wish..." (cf. Mt 8:2). Yet, we must also cooperate. St. Augustine reminds us with his classic saying: "He who created you without you will not save you without you." Therefore, we must be able to ask the Lord to help us and to desire change with His assistance.

Someone might ask: Why is it so important to recognize, repent, and want to change? Simply because, otherwise, we would still not be able to give an affirmative answer to the previous question, where we said that a society without a sense of sin would hardly feel the desire or need to seek the Lord to ask for His help.

Thus, when the moment of repentance arrives, the moment of sacramental confession, it is necessary to discard the past, the blemishes that infect our bodies and souls. Let us not doubt: asking for forgiveness is a significant moment of Christian initiation because it is the moment when the scales fall from our eyes. And if someone realizes their situation and does not want to convert? A popular saying goes: "There are none so blind as those who will not see.”