Lk 5:12-16
12There 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.” 13Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I do will it. Be made clean.” And the leprosy left him immediately. 14Then 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.” 15The report about him spread all the more, and great crowds assembled to listen to him and to be cured of their ailments, 16but he would withdraw to deserted places to pray.
Lord, make me clean!: Jesus once tipped his disciples, “All that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours. When you stand to pray, forgive…” (Mk 11:24-25).
Pray sincerely. This is the case of the leper in the Gospel. He prays and believes and is healed. Jesus always wishes the best for us.
The catch is in the sincerity of our hearts, in the purity of our intentions, and in the clarity of what we pray for. I believe that even Jesus checks on his intention and sincerity when he goes off to a lonely place to pray. But why do we still not get our wish, even when our prayers are sincere and our intentions pure? Maybe we can try withdrawing to a lonely place to pray. That place may just be in our hearts. It may be a moment in our day or a corner of our house. There our intentions and sincerity will be purified.
Leprosy: The Hebrew word zaraat, rendered by the Greek lepra, refers to an eruptive skin disease and is not to be associated with Hansen’s disease. Leprosy was feared because the afflicted was regarded as ceremonially unclean. The victim was isolated until it was determined that he was healed, “clean,” or that the disease was not chronic. Its incidence was regarded as an act of God (“stricken by God”), and healing was invariably interpreted as a miracle of divine grace.