The readings for this homily: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/011826.cfm

Before healing the man’s body, Jesus heals his soul. The paralytic seeks physical restoration, but Christ addresses a greater paralysis: sin. Sin paralyzes the soul and separates us from God, the source of life. “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” the scribes challenge (Mk 2:7, NABRE). Indeed, only God forgives, yet they fail to see the Divine in front of them. Jesus, God incarnate, reveals His authority not only by perceiving hearts but by forgiving sins and restoring the man.

This moment prefigures the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Just as the man’s friends interceded for him, Christ extends forgiveness through the Church and her priests. Fr. Chris emphasizes that when a priest declares, “I absolve you from your sins,” it is Christ acting in the confessional (John 20:23, NABRE). Spiritual healing comes first, for sin’s weight is greater than any physical ailment.

Christ’s mercy invites us to rise from the mat of our sinfulness, just as the paralytic stood and walked. Repentance is not mere sorrow—it is transformation, a turning toward God and away from sin. Through infant baptism, God forgives the helpless on behalf of faithful parents and godparents, just as He healed the helpless paralytic by the faith of others. Intercessory prayer is essential; faith shared in community moves God’s grace into our lives.

We are called to participate actively: pray for one another, confess, and rise renewed. Christ’s forgiveness restores, strengthens, and sends forth. The mat is left behind; the soul walks free. By addressing the deepest paralysis, Jesus demonstrates the power of His mercy and the Church’s mission to bring all sinners to life.

To explore the sacraments and God’s work through intercession, visit Understanding the Sacraments (ShopMercy.org).

The readings for this homily: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/011626.cfm

Father Chris Alar, MIC, draws us into the dramatic Gospel scene of the paralytic lowered before Jesus and reveals why this passage speaks so clearly of the Sacraments of the Church. What Jesus responds to first is not the man’s condition, but faith — specifically, the faith of those carrying him. “When Jesus saw their faith” (Mk 2:5; NABRE), He forgives sins before He heals the body.

This moment reveals something essential about Catholic belief. Faith is never completely private. We carry one another to Christ through intercessory prayer, just as parents bring children to Baptism and the Church brings sinners to Confession. The paralytic is helpless, yet forgiveness is granted because of the faith of others — an image that mirrors infant Baptism, where grace is given through the faith of parents and godparents. Sin is wiped away, not by personal achievement, but by Christ’s mercy working through His Church.

Jesus exposes the deeper paralysis beneath the physical one: sin. Before restoring strength to the man’s limbs, He restores communion with God. This points directly to the Sacrament of Confession, where Christ continues His ministry of forgiveness through priests acting by His authority: “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them” (Jn 20:23; NABRE). Forgiveness is not the end — it demands a response. Christ commands the man to rise. Mercy empowers transformation.

Father Chris challenges us to ask: After Confession, do we stay down, or do we get up? Repentance is not merely sorrow; it is conversion, transformation. The mat that once held us becomes a witness to what God has healed. Christ frees us so that we may walk — changed, restored, and sent forth.

To deepen your understanding of Confession and Baptism, explore Understanding the Sacraments at ShopMercy.org.

The readings for this homily: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/011526.cfm

Why would God allow Israel to be defeated even while the Levites were carrying the Ark of the Covenant before the army into battle? And why would Jesus heal a leper — then sternly command him to tell no one? In this homily, Fr. Mark Baron, MIC, brings these unsettling questions together and shows that they reveal the same spiritual danger: presumption.

Israel treated the Ark as a weapon, a mere tool, rather than a sign of fidelity to the covenant with God. Though God had called them to be “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex 19:6; NABRE), the people and their leaders were living in grave sin. Trust in sacred objects rather than trust in God and determined obedience to God led to Israel’s defeat. The Ark was holy — but the hearts of the people of Israel had grown hardened.

In the Gospel, Jesus heals a leper, yet warns him not to spread the news. Christ is protecting His mission. He did not come as a mere political liberator, but to establish the Kingdom of God within the human heart. Leprosy, Fr. Mark explains, is a powerful image of sin: slow-growing, numbing, disfiguring, and blinding. Sin deadens the conscience and distorts the soul far more than disease ever could.

Christ touches the leper without fear. His mercy is stronger than corruption. He desires to cleanse what sin has deformed and restore the beauty lost through disobedience. The true enemy is not external forces, but the sin that takes root within us. Only repentance and humility allow God’s Kingdom to reign in our hearts.