“Lord, if you want, you can cleanse me”, is the central message of today’s Holy Gospel Friday and reflection with the Readings for today June 28, 2024. Gospel of the day explained according to Saint Matthew 8,1-4, with the daily Word today, Friday of Week 12 of Ordinary Time.
“Do I know how to reach out? Do I have the strength, the courage to touch the marginalized?” (Pope Francis’ reflection on today’s Gospel)
Reading index.
Saint of the day:
Saint Irenaeus of Lyon was a bishop and disciple of Saint Polycarp, who in turn was a disciple of Saint John the Evangelist: He fought the heresies of the Gnostics
Gospel Message:
Lord, if you want, you can cleanse me (Cf. Gospel according to Saint Matthew 8,1-4)
Readings for today Friday.
2 Kings 25:1-12: “Thus Judah was banished from her land”
In the ninth year of the reign of Zedekiah, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with his entire army against Jerusalem; He camped in front of the city and surrounded it with a palisade. The city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. In the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, while famine was pressing in the city and there was no more bread for the people of the country, a breach opened in the city. Then all the men of war fled, leaving the city during the night, by the way of the Gate, between the two walls, which is near the king’s garden; and while the Chaldeans surrounded the city, they took the road to the Arabah. The troops of the Chaldeans pursued the king, and overtook him in the steppes of Jericho, where his entire army disbanded. The Chaldeans captured the king and brought him up to Riblah before the king of Babylon, and he passed sentence against him. Zedekiah’s sons were slaughtered before his very eyes. He put out Zedekiah’s eyes, tied him with a double bronze chain, and took him to Babylon.
On the seventh day of the fifth month, it was the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, commander of the guard, who was serving before the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem. He burned down the House of the Lord, the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and set fire to all the houses of the nobles. Then the Chaldean army, which was with the commander of the guard, broke down the walls surrounding Jerusalem. Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guard, deported the entire population that had remained in the city, the deserters who had crossed over, the king of Babylon, and the rest of the artisans. But he left a part of the poor people of the country as vinedressers and cultivators. God’s word.
Today’s Psalm.
Psalm 137(136): “Let my tongue be silent, if I ever forget you!” (R)
By the rivers of Babylon we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion. We hung our harps on the poplars of that land. /R.
Although there our captors asked us for the words of our songs, And our despoilers urged us to be joyful: “Sing to us the songs of Zion!” /R.
How could we sing a song of the Lord in a foreign land? If I forget you, Jerusalem, let my right hand forget. /R.
May my tongue stick to my palate if I do not remember you, if I do not put Jerusalem before my joy. /R.
Today’s Gospel.
Matthew 8,1-4: “If you wish, you can make me clean.”
At that time, cWhen Jesus came down from the mountain, a large crowd followed him. Then a leper came and bowed down before him and said, “Lord, if you want, you can cleanse me.” Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I want him, be clean.” And immediately he was cleansed from his leprosy. Jesus said to him, “Do not tell anyone, but go and present yourself to the priest and give the offering that Moses commanded so that it may serve as a testimony to them.” Word of the Lord. Glory to you, Lord Jesus.
Reflection Pope Francis.
In today’s Gospel reading, we see that this leper felt in his heart a longing to get closer to Jesus… “Lord, if you want, you can cleanse me.” He said this because he was dirty. In fact, leprosy was a life sentence. And curing a leper was as difficult as bringing a dead person back to life: that’s why they were marginalized… “What did Jesus do?” He did not remain still, without touching him, but he came even closer, stretched out his hand and healed him. Closeness is a very important word: you cannot build a community without closeness; You cannot make peace without closeness; You cannot do good without reaching out. Jesus could have said to him: “You are healed!” But, instead, he reached out and touched it… He takes upon himself our filth, our impurities… Closeness is a beautiful word, for each of us. We should ask ourselves: “Do I know how to approach? Do I have the strength, the courage to touch the marginalized?”… (Homily of Pope Francis on today’s Gospel, June 26, 2015)
Gospel of the day (video).
What message does God have for me today? Listen to the audio meditation of today’s Gospel, Friday, according to Saint Matthew 8:1-4: “Lord, if you want, you can cleanse me”, with Father Carlos Yepes.
Let us ask the Holy Spirit for help, so that He may help us meditate on the reflection of today’s Friday readings.
Today’s Chaplet.
Join the teachings of the Gospel to the prayer of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy today, Friday, for all your intentions, for the Pope, the Church and all our needs.
Intentions of the day.
In today’s Gospel, according to Matthew 8:1-4, we read: “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” What does today’s Gospel tell us? The daily Word invites us to have an unwavering and humble faith, like that of the leper who approaches Jesus with confidence in his power to heal, to recognize our own need for healing, both physically and spiritually, and to approach Jesus with the certainty that He is able and desires to heal us. What does this text from the Gospel of the day tell me? How would I apply today’s readings to my life? Write in the comments your prayer requests that today’s Gospel may have stirred up in you, or all those things that you have kept inside. Remember today’s message from the Gospel of the day, according to Saint Matthew 8,1-4: “If you wish, you can make me clean.” We will be praying for your intentions.
