The Cleansing of a Leper

January 9, 2015

The Cleansing of a Leper

A reading from the Gospel of Saint Luke 5, 12 – 16:

Now there was a man full of leprosy in one of the towns where Jesus was, and when he saw Jesus, he fell prostrate, pleaded with him, and said, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” Jesus stretch out his hand, touched him, and said, “I do will it. Be made clean.” And the leprosy left him immediately. Then he ordered him not to tell anyone, but “Go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed, that will be proof for them.” The report about him spread all the more, and great crowds assembled to listen to him and to be cured of their ailments, but he would withdraw to deserted places to pray.

When I was in Africa, I was in charge of a parish where there was a village of Lepers. Hundreds of lepers lived in that village and they had a chapel there. I used to go there often and offered Masses with them and I prayed with these poor people. Some had lost all their fingers from this sickness and others had lost a great part of their feet. They only had a stump to walk. In the past a person with leprosy could not live with healthy people because he or she could give that horrible sickness to them. So they were put with other lepers and the family would go about once a week to bring their relatives something to eat.

Below you will find the message of Our Lord and Savior given to Father Melvin. Jesus spoke to him these words,

“Pray My brother Melvin and all My brothers and sisters that the people with this terrible sickness called leprosy may be healed. Yes, when I was living in Israel I healed many lepers. This horrible sickness had gone when I pronounced the words of healing. I would say something like this, “Be made clean.” This leper who was cleansed whose story is written above did not follow what I told him. I told him not to talk about his cleansing to anybody but to go to the priests and offer what Moses had prescribed for their healing. However, he went away and told everybody that I had cleansed him from leprosy, so all the people in the whole area heard about this and they came to listen to Me and they brought the sick to Me to heal them.
I loved to go to a deserted area and to stay there for a time to pray to My Heavenly Father. I was a contemplative and I would take time with My Father to contemplate Him and to listen to all that He had to say to Me. You know that both My Father and I had a very closed relationship. We always acted as ONE.
Whenever you are sick come to Me and offer yourself completely to Me with the great desire to do all that I want you to do. Then indeed I will heal you and give you the graces and the strength you need to overcome any obstacle you come across. I love you all and I want to help you, everyone of you.”

Father Melvin

P.S. It was sunny all day but it was cold in the morning and also in the evening.