Fr. Michael Williams

Intercession- or praying for others- is an important element in our faith. The Catechism says:

“In intercession, he who prays looks not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (CCC2635).

The four men in the gospel were not looking for their own interests, they were looking to the interests of the paralytic. The faith of the paralytic’s friends led Jesus to heal the sick man, both physically and spiritually. “Seeing their faith” Jesus performs the healing. In some sense the four men interceded for their sick friend. He couldn’t go to the Lord by himself, so they present the paralytic to the Lord. Part of our vocation as Christians is to take people to the Lord through our prayers and through our actions.

It should not be thought that the man’s paralysis is a result of some personal sin. In a healing story from St. John’s gospel, when Jesus heals a man born blind, Jesus is asked the question, “who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should have been born blind?” Jesus answered that question by saying, “Neither he nor his parents sinned, he was born blind that the works of God might be revealed in him”.

Although we do need to recognise that sin can have a paralysing effect. Someone who is addicted to drugs, alcohol, or something else, is in effect paralysed because of personal sin. If we know people suffering from such a paralysis we should bring them to the Lord through our prayers and actions.

In today’s gospel Jesus heals the man both physically and spiritually. The most important part of this healing is the spiritual healing. Jesus performs this spiritual healing when he tells the paralytic, “My child, your sins are forgiven”. The absolution that Jesus gives to the paralytic, in a personal way, is offered to us in the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession). Christ instituted this Sacrament when He breathed on the Apostles and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven”. Christ’s authority to forgive sins operates now in the Sacrament of Forgiveness. It’s a Sacrament we all need to utilise because our personal sin always causes damage, which needs healing.

At the end of the gospel today, we heard how the people were “astounded and praised God”. They rejoiced in the forgiveness and healing that God offers. And the rejoicing and praise came about because two people brought their sick friend to the Lord and placed their faith in Christ’s power to heal and save.

Let us also be “astounded and praise God” for His great mercy, which is manifested to countless people throughout the world today.