Here is faith, hope and love.
This comes from Sister Gabriela of the Incarnation, a cloistered Discalced Carmelite whose life is dedicated to prayer. She reflects on recent comments by the pope and offers this reflection:
There is a very interesting event described in the Gospel of Mark. When Jesus “returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. So many gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door; and he was speaking the word to them. Then some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven’”(Mk 2:1-5).
I want to draw your attention to that last sentence: “When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’” In every other encounter with people whom Jesus healed, he told the person, “Your faith has made you well.” Your faith has made you well. Each person is saved by their faith. That is the general rule, but it doesn’t apply here. This situation was totally different. The paralytic was not saved by his own faith. He probably did believe that Jesus could heal him, and he subsequently was healed, but not because of his faith. His physical healing was in response to the doubting of the scribes, not because of his own faith. The greater healing, the healing of his sins, was in response to the faith of those who brought him to Jesus. That is a gift that he received because of the faith of others.
Can my prayers and the prayers of contemplatives and believers around the world cause all sins to be forgiven? Every sin that has been, will be or is being committed was lavishly paid for on Calvary 2,000 years ago. Countless times throughout the day, Catholics recite the Our Father. That prayer includes the words, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” There is enough grace through Christ’s sacrifice to save every human being ever created. Prayer gathers up that grace and presents it to God so that, seeing our faith, He may say to each person, “Your sins are forgiven.”
There’s much more. Read it all.
