[Sundaycommunity] People Progress: 2021.02.14

[Brian Shaughnessy]

THE DETAILED LEPER

175.  The Leper Cured at the Foot of the Mountain.
30th May 1945

Amongst the many flowers that perfume the earth and delight our eyes, I see
the horrible spectre of a revolting, corroded leper, completely covered
with sores.

The crowds shout with fear and rush back to the lower slopes of the
mountain.  Some of them gather stones to throw at the rash man.

But Jesus turns round with His arms fully stretched out and shouts:
"Peace!  Stay where you are.  Be not afraid.  Put the stones down.  Have
mercy on a poor brother.  He is a son of God, too!"

The crowds obey, overwhelmed by the power of the Master, who moves forward
through the tall grass in bloom to a few steps from the leper, who on his
part has understood that Jesus is protecting him, and has come nearer.

He prostrates himself.  "Lord, if You want, You can cure me.  Have mercy
also on me."

Jesus:  "Raise your head and look at Me.  A man who believes in Heaven must
be able to look at it.  And you do believe, because you are asking for a
grace."

The grass is shaken and opens out once again.  Like the head of a
shipwrecked person emerging from the sea, the head of the leper appears,
stripped of hair and beard.  His head is a skull not yet entirely deprived
of all flesh.

And yet Jesus does not disdain touching that forehead with the tips of His
fingers, where there are no sores on the skin.  But the skin on that spot
is ashen-grey, scaly, and lies between two putrid erosions, one of which
has destroyed his scalp, and the other has opened a hole where his right
eye was, so that I could not say whether the ball of his eye is still in
the huge socket, which, between his temple and his nose, lays bare his
cheek-bone and his nasal cartilage, full of corruption.

And Jesus, holding the finger-tips of His lovely hand there, says:  "I want
it.  Be cleansed."

And, as if the man were not eaten away and covered with sores, but only
covered with dirt on which cleansing waters were poured, the leprosy
disappears at once.  First the wounds heal; then his skin becomes clear,
his right eye appears between fresh eyelids, his lips close round his
yellowish teeth.  Only his hair and beard are missing, that is, there are
only scanty tufts of hair where previously there was only a tiny piece of
wholesome skin.

The crowds shout in amazement.  And their joyful shouts tell the man that
he is cured.  He lifts his hands, so far concealed by the grass, he touches
his eye, where the huge hole was; he touches his head, where the large sore
showed his skull and feels his fresh skin. He stands up, looks at his
chest, his hips...  He is all wholesome and clean.  He collapses once again
on the flowery meadow weeping out of joy.

"Do not weep.  Stand up and listen to Me.  Go back to life according to the
rite and do not tell anybody until you have accomplished it.  Show yourself
to the priest as soon as possible, make the offering prescribed by Moses as
evidence of your miraculous cure."

"It's for You that I should witness, my Lord!"

"You will witness for Me by loving My doctrine!.  Go."

Some people throw coins to him.  Others throw bread and foodstuffs.  A man,
seeing that the leper's clothes are nothing but torn rags, takes his mantle
off, ties it in a knot, and throws it to the leper who can thus cover
himself decently.  Another man, as charity is contagious when it is in
common, cannot resist his desire to supply him with sandals, takes off his
own and throws them to the leper.

"And what about you?", asks Jesus Who saw the gesture.

"Oh, I live nearby.  I can walk barefooted. He has to go a long way."

"May God bless you and all those who have helped our brother.  Man, you
will pray for them."

"I will pray for them and for You.  That the world may have faith in You."

"Goodbye.  Go in peace."

The man walks away a few yards, then turns round and shouts:  "Can I tell
the priest that You have cured me?"

"It is not necessary.  Just say:  'The Lord has mercy on me.'  It is the
whole truth and nothing else is required."
________

aptYLJC,Twbd,ttM

[image: image.png]

On Fri, Feb 12, 2021 at 5:02 PM Mary Lou Jorgensen-Bacher via
Sundaycommunity <sundaycommunity at lists.integralshift.ca> wrote:

> PLEASE DEVOUR THIS ONE!!!!!!!!!  (See at the bottom that I have added a
> few other ideas, on* top *of the "ANNOUNCEMENTS"!!)
>
> Mary Lou Jorgensen-Bacher
> Keeper of the Flame
> _______________________________________________
> Sundaycommunity mailing list
> Sundaycommunity at lists.integralshift.ca
> http://lists.integralshift.ca/listinfo.cgi/sundaycommunity-integralshift.ca
>


-- 
aptYLJC,Twbd,ttM
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