One of the most difficult burdens to bear is watching a loved one lose their faith. That, or knowing someone who’s never had a relationship with Christ.
We look at them and they look tortured. You can see the lack of God in their lives manifesting itself externally.
You feel desperate to give them what they need, but so often, they reject the offer of Christ’s saving grace and this makes us even more desperate.
We commit ourselves to praying for them and years go by and nothing seems to change. We despair a bit, hope wanes. Then, we get new wind in our sails and we quietly continue our prayers for them, all the while trying to bear our broken heart.
We want them to come to Christ like the leper in our Gospel reading today from Mark 1:40-45. He needs physical healing, but let’s not forget, he needs spiritual healing, too.
We dream of our loved one speaking his words to Jesus, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” We know that if they would just accept a relationship with Him, things would drastically change for the better in their lives.
We all have loved ones that need to “be made clean” by Christ, Catholic Pilgrims. Pray that God gives us the strength to continue to intercede for them no matter how long it takes. And pray that they might realize the healing that can come only through Jesus, just like the leper did.
Have a blessed Sunday.
