Twelfth Friday of Ordinary Time

“Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I will do it.  Be made clean.” His leprosy was cleansed immediately. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one, but go show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.”

God can make us spiritually clean at any time as long as we seek him out in the sacrament of reconciliation. We all can become infected with imperfections and sins that keep us from being true reflections of God. When we fall into sin, we disfigure the image of God within us and make it difficult for anyone to recognize. However, these defects can be fixed. We can be healed, if we are willing to seek out God, ask for His forgiveness with contrite hearts, and do penance. This is how we can prove our sincerity to God and once we have completed all that is asked of us, we will be freed from our imperfections and sins and have a clean conscience to lead us along a better path.

Are we spiritually clean? What imperfections and sins are obscuring the image of God within us? When was the last time we went to the sacrament of reconciliation?

O Lord, make us clean.

Amen.