1st Week in Ordinary Time (II) : Friday 16th January 2026

Once a famous singer declared that he owed his singing career to his wife. She had faith in his singing ability when he himself had lost faith in it, and was ready to quit. This is what we see in today’s Gospel. The paralytic had lost all hope of a cure. Even though it was a herculean task for his friends to take him to Jesus, they did not lose hope. What a beautiful example of the communitarian aspect of our salvation!

The second aspect of this healing is also very important: Jesus did not immediately heal the person but first He forgave his sin. Why? In Israel there was a belief that our illness is due to our sin or the sin of our parents. Jesus took care of that by forgiving his sins. Then the man was ready to accept the healing offered by Jesus.

And thirdly, Jesus, as one who can heal a spiritual illness, which is a greater evil, is also able to heal the physical illness, the lesser evil. Jesus as Lord has both powers.

Let us be thankful for the people in our life who believe in us when we may have lost faith in ourselves. And in return, we pray to the Lord that we too may bring hope and faith to others.

PRAYER:  Lord, increase the little faith I have.