Reflection From

Fr. John

October 12, 2025

Where do we go for cleansing and healing? To whom do we turn in our time of need and trial? The readings for this week focus on the healing of Naaman the Syrian in the First Reading and the healing of the ten lepers in the Gospel passage. These healings focus on the healing power of God.

In both instances, the illness that was cured was leprosy. Leprosy in the Old Testament and during the time of Christ referred to various skin diseases, including what is now called Hansen’s disease, which causes a loss of nerve function and eventual paralysis. It was seen as both a physical and spiritual illness.

At the time of Christ, there was no cure for leprosy and those who suffered from it faced both a crippling illness and severe social stigma. In addition to the physical effects, those suffering from leprosy were ostracized and not allowed to be a part of the regular community. When someone contracted leprosy, they were considered ritually impure and labeled as being “unclean”. Anyone who came in contact with them would also become ritually impure and not allowed to participate in normal ceremonial functions. As a result, leper colonies formed where individuals with various forms of leprosy lived outside of normal society.

Due to the severity of the disease and the lack of any possible cure, the only way for a cure was through Divine intervention. In the First Reading, we see how Naaman, even though he was a military commander in the Syrian army, went to the King of Israel and then to Elisha the prophet to be cured. In his desperation, he sought out the Lord. God healed him and “His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child…” (2 Kings 5:14) Naaman didn’t hesitate but gave thanks to the Lord and responded in faith saying, “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel…I will no longer offer holocaust or sacrifice to any other god except to the LORD.” (2 Kings 5:15,17) His gratefulness and conversion of heart mirror the actions of the leper in the Gospel who returned to give thanks to Christ for being cured. In both cases, their miraculous healing opens them to faith and trust in God. May we too, even if we have not received an explicit physical healing, come to recognize the various forms of healing that the Lord grants us, especially spiritual and emotional healing. Let us ask for the grace to experience the healing power of God through the Sacraments, most importantly through the Sacraments of Holy Communion, Anointing of the Sick and Reconciliation. By turning to Jesus in our time of need and to the Sacraments, we will receive His healing touch and be transformed into grateful witnesses of the one, true Lord.

Father John

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