“They came bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.”
Many of us, when reading this Sunday’s Gospel reading, look at different points and people of the story: Jesus, the paralytic, a crowded house, and the Pharisees, who were also present. However, the friends of the paralytic, who came to help carry the paralytic to Jesus, are often overlooked. We see that the four friends go out of their way, “opening up the roof”, to bring their friend to Jesus. Like the leper in last Sunday’s Gospel, nothing is going to stop these friends from getting to Jesus.
Who were these four friends? We do not know a lot about these four friends, but what we do know of them is that they were close enough friends to rush him to see Jesus, carry him up on a roof, make an opening and then to lower him down to Jesus. Now that’s friendship!
What do the four friends see when they bring the paralytic to Jesus? They witness two miracles: First, mercy, the Lord’s forgiveness of their friend’s sin, “The men carrying the paralytic understand that Jesus has given their incapacitated friend the greatest good – freedom from his own sin.” [1] Second, they see the healing of his body. If we can be like the four friends and bring others to Christ, we could see the conversion and grace come upon them, and rejoice with them.
How are we like the four friends? Like the friends, we must bring others to Jesus Christ. “On many occasions the greatest favor, the greatest good we can do for a friend, brother, our parents and children is to help them see the beauty of divine mercy in the sacrament of penance. It is a good for the family, for the Church, for the whole of humanity, even though here on earth very few know about it.” [2]
ACTIVITY – True Charity
Read the Spiritual Reading in this Link to Liturgy Packet. How are the four friends an example of Charity? How do the four friends live out in the Gospel what Saint Maximus the Confessor is preaching about?
How are we to help bring others to Christ? “The paralytic was healed body and soul. And his friends are an example for us today of how we should help others – mostly through our friendships, cooperating in apostolic initiatives, and fostering the good of society with all the means at our disposal, working for the common good, for a decent life and culture, and offering positive solutions, when faced with evil. We should do this in our own professional circumstances as well as in any other environment in which we happen to be involved (neighborhoods, parents’ associations, parishes…); it is here that we can cooperate in the building up of good and avoid cooperation in anything that is evil.” [3] List some tangible things you can do to help the people around you come closer to Christ.
“Cooperating in good implies, of course, avoiding any cooperation with evil, not only in important decisions but also in the small ways…not wasting money – even only small amounts – on magazines, newspapers, books, shows and entertainment, which because of their sectarian, anti-Christian or immoral character, damage the soul; buying one’s newspaper at a particular newsstand (even if it means a longer walk) rather than from one where publications are sold attacking the Church or Christian morals; avoiding a pharmacy selling contraceptives; or not buying a certain product (possibly very good) which is advertised on an immoral or anti-Catholic program on radio or television. And our action will be even more effective if we suggest a similar line of conduct to our friends. If lukewarm Christians were to stop buying certain magazines and publications, many of these would not survive. It is regrettable that, on many occasions, much of the immense damage caused is being subsidized by Christians who, besides, are always complaining about society’s moral ruin.” [4]
Why should I bring others to Christ? In today’s culture, we have become more and more isolated. When we see a homeless person on the side of the road, instead of offering food or water, we may think, “Get a job!” Other times we can think someone should have worked harder or the person is lazy. This is not our job or responsibility to decide these things. However, it is our responsibility to stop evil and bring good to all we meet whoever they are wherever they are. “What the soul is in the body, Christians are in the world.” [5]
Story of Servant of God, Fr. Emil Kapaun
The Miracle of Father Kapaun // The Miracle of Father Kapaun #2
“Father Kapaun, was born in Pilsen, Kansas in the Diocese of Wichita, Kansas on Holy Thursday, April 20, 1916. He was ordained as a Priest for the Diocese on June 9, 1940 and entered the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps in 1944. Separated from the service in 1946, he re-entered the Army in 1948 and was sent to Japan the following year. In July of 1950, Father Kapaun was ordered to Korea. On November 2 of that same year he was taken as a prisoner of war. In the seven months in prison, Father Kapaun spent himself in heroic service to his fellow prisoners without regard for race, color or creed. To this there is testimony of men of all faiths. Ignoring his own ill health, he nursed the sick and wounded until a blood clot in his leg prevented his daily rounds. Moved to a so-called hospital, but denied medical assistance, his death soon followed on May 23, 1951. The Diocese of Wichita and the Vatican have begun the formal process that could lead to Father Kapaun's canonization. In 1993, it was announced that Fr. Kapaun would receive the title of ‘Servant of God’.” [6]
We can learn from Father Kapaun, who was a friend and Jesus to everyone. While we may not be faced with being a prisoner of war, we are faced with people, who feel a sense of hopelessness in the world. We must be willing to help carry them to get healed just as the four friends did in the Gospel and just as Father Kapaun did in the Korean War.
[1] In Conversation with God 3, 53.1
[2] In Conversation with God 3, 53.1
[3] In Conversation with God 3, 53.1
[4] In Conversation with God 3, 53.1 (Italic’s added)
[5] Letter to Diognetus, 5
[6] http://frkapaun.org/