There will be no public Masses this weekend. Public Masses at St. Leonard Parish, with a 30% capacity restriction, will resume on Ash Wednesday, Feb 17th. This marks the beginning of the 40 days of Lent and what could be a better time for us get back to our Church to reflect, to repent and be restored to right relationship with God as we prepare to celebrate the Lord's Resurrection at Easter (April 4th). Pope Francis asks that, "We pray, fast and perform the works of mercy in this time of grace, so that the Lord might find our hearts ready and fill them with the victory of his love."

Online Masses from St. Leonard's will be available on our YouTube Channel. To visit this site click here. Today at 4 pm a recorded version of the Sunday Mass will be available. During the week, the 9 am Wed, Thurs and Friday Masses will be Livestreamed.

Conquered and controlled only in the twentieth century, leprosy, or Hansen’s disease (as it is known today) was, in effect, a death sentence for those who contracted it in the time of Jesus. Once it was determined that a person was stricken with leprosy, they were, legally obliged to keep their clothes torn, their head bare and to call out the warning, “unclean”, when approached (Lev 13:45). Ostracized from their family and neighbors, lepers were made to dwell outside the village or in a separate house. Permanently quarantined if you will. Thus, the leper is excluded from all aspects of communal life especially worship which was the very center of life for most Jews at that time.

In our Gospel reading today we hear that a leper came to Jesus. Once in His presence, the leper knelt and worshiped Him. This suffering man realizes who Jesus is. Not one prophet among many. Not just a wandering wise man. But the incarnation of the God of Israel. The only one whom that worship is the appropriate attitude. The leper says to Jesus “If you wish, you can make me clean.” It is as if he is saying, “it is your will that will be done, not my will”. Moved with pity Jesus reached out his hand and touched him. Jesus reverses the taboo against contact with the “unclean” and because of the touch of Jesus, the leper is healed.

What can we learn from this humble approach of the leper to Jesus? We need to acknowledge that in our sickness, our weakness, and, yes even in our sin, we are all to some degree a little like this leper. Our difficulties can cause us, like the leper to be cut off from our family and friends. In the case of Covid-19, even physically quarantined. The endurance of physical or mental pain are made far worse without the support of our loved ones.

Whatever trouble that we are in or cross that we are bearing, we need to have the faith and courage, just like the leper, to go to Jesus. Trusting in His lordship and with an attitude of reverence and worship, we ask that His will be done. This is the key step in getting our lives in order. When we worship the true God and accept that His will be done, our lives can come back into order.

Like the leper, once we have been healed by the Lord, we feel an obligation to tell the world about it. In this story the leper was specifically told not to do so for it was not yet time for Jesus to be fully known.  But his  zeal knew no bounds and he could not keep his good news quiet. His timing was off, but he was none the less one of the great early evangelists for the Christian message. As Bishop Robert Barron says, “Evangelization is one starving person telling another starving person where to find bread.”

Today, we are invited to see in the leper’s encounter with Jesus, the experience of every believer. Redeemed by Jesus and freed from sin and death, we have been forever released from the quarantine of separation, isolation and alienation. Healed and graced by Jesus, we, like the leper are each compelled to tell our story, making public the good news that God saves sinners and welcomes them home.

As Pope Francis said. "Less is more. A constant flood on new consumer goods can baffle the heart and prevent us from cherishing each thing and each moment."

There is an essential fact that when our life is full of stuff there is room for God, prayer or family.

Pick and size bag or box and get going! Fill on(or more!) a day for 400 days and re-cycle, donate or toss. You'll remove clutter while also donating to those in need!

Places to donate: 

St. Vincent de Paul: Clothing (clean/good condition) white bin on church parking lot or 1620 Merivale Rd

The Salvation Army: 1616 Merivale Rd. 613 228-5282 or 1350 Walkley RD  613 731-0165

Ottawa Humane Society: Blankets & towels 245 West Hunt Club Rd.  

613 725-3166 www.ottawahumane.ca

Canadian Diabetes Association: Household items, clothing

Schedule pick-up 800-505-5525  www.diabetes.ca