Memorial of Saint
Ambrose, bishop
(Isaiah 35:1-10; Luke 5:17-26)
It was said that the windows of St. John Paul II’s papal
chambers were lighted until the midnight hour.
After spending his day in meeting with people and in prayer, the pope studied
and wrote at night. His work habits paralleled
those of St. Ambrose. The bishop of
Milan was known for both his pastoral counselling and his eloquent
preaching. As an aspiring Catholic, St.
Augustine wanted to confer with Ambrose but usually found him with a line of
petitioners or deep in thought. We see
Jesus in a similarly committed ministry in today’s gospel.
A crowd surrounds Jesus as he both heals and
teaches. Determined believers gain
access to him by opening a section of the roof. They lower a man who is paralyzed for Jesus to
see. Evidently Jesus, who is said to
know the thoughts of people, understands that the paralytic needs forgiveness
more than mobility. When he perceives
also the Pharisees’ condemnation for saying that the paralytic sins are
forgive, he heals the man as well.
We like to go to Jesus with our needs. He is there to help us. Perhaps we should ask ourselves if our
greatest need is not also forgiveness. Feeling
sorry for ourselves, we try to manipulate attention from others. Feeling annoyed by another’s mannerism, we react
with an insult disguised as a joke. Let us
recognize these sins and then take comfort in the reconciliation Jesus offers
us in the Eucharist.
