Reading and meditation on the Word of God on Monday of the third week of Lent, March 9th, 2026

Delivered by Jessy Patricia from the Parish of Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral in the Archdiocese of Makassar, Indonesia. 2 Kings 5: 1-15a; Rs psalm 42: 2.3; 43: 3.4; Luke 4: 24-30.HEALING LEPROSY OFBODY AND SOUL The title for ourmeditation today is: Healing Leprosy of the Body and Soul. Saint Ephraim ofSyria who lived in the 4th century AD, wrote like this about the healing ofNaaman, the Syrian army, because of God's grace through the prophet Elisha:"Therefore Naaman was sent to the Jordan River with the aim of healingbecause the water can restore human sickness. Indeed, sin is a leprosy in thesoul, which cannot be sensed, but intelligence can prove it. Human nature mustbe freed from this disease by the power of Christ kept in baptism. It was veryimportant for Naaman to recover from two illnesses, his body and soul. This isfitting to represent a grace of purification and sanctification of all nationsin the ongoing baths, which begin in the Jordan River, mother and beginning ofbaptism." Naaman was a personoutside the Jewish faith community and was certainly considered an infidel. Buthe was without obstacle convinced that there was a power of God that couldprovide healing for his leprosy. He got this information from the Israel servantwho worked for him. People of this category are quick to open up and respond tothe important message about faith, because they basically need God. Naaman representsmany people today who are far from God and do not know Him. They want to havefaith in God through a process of healing their bodies and souls. Their bodieshave shortcomings and even pains because they are far away and apart from closenessand fellowship with God, the source of faith. Their souls are in need ofabsolute truth about life and hope for salvation after death. This process ismade available in Jesus Christ through baptism. After Naaman, there have been somany people outside Jewish community who receive baptism and are members of theChurch today. Naaman's actionscontrasted with those around Jesus even from His place of origin and thecontemporaries of Naaman. They were already strong in their own beliefs,moreover Jesus was considered no less than one from their cricle . They knewvery well the simplicity of Jesus' biological family, so it was impossible forthem to believe that He had powers that exceeded them. The Lord Jesus wants usas His obedient followers to accept Him. By accepting and owning Him, whereverand whenever we are, He is present through us in doing good and renewing thisworld.Let's pray. In the name of the Father... O God, almighty Lord, strengthen our faith that we may become your truewitnesses in this world. Our Father who art in heaven ... In the name of theFather  ...