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Do all to be in Jesus' presence, archbishop tells clergy conference
29-07-2009
SAN ANTONIO (CNS) -- Catholic clergy and laypeople must imitate the spirit that led friends of the paralyzed man in the Gospel account to do "everything they could so that the man could be in the presence of Jesus," because "real joy comes when we make Jesus the center of our lives."
That was the message from Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of San Antonio to participants in the recent annual conference of the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy, a support and education organization for U.S. Catholic priests and deacons.
Archbishop Gomez called the story -- in Chapter 9 of Matthew's Gospel, the paralyzed man was lowered through a hole in the roof of the house where Jesus was teaching -- a "graphic example" of healing.
Christ told the man, "Have courage, child, your sins are forgiven."
Why, the archbishop asked, is this pardon the first gift Christ gave the man? After all, it prompted the Pharisees to anger and an accusation that Christ was blaspheming.
"What does forgiveness have to do with making the man walk again? Sin is a real disease that makes us spiritually blind, deaf, mute and lame. We are disabled so that we cannot perform the works of mercy. Sin is a disability making us unable to reach out to God or our neighbor," he added.
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/briefs/cns/20090728.htm
