SIXTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR
ENTRANCE ANTIPHON.
Lord, be my rock of safety, the stronghold that saves me. For the honour of your name, lead me and guide me.
1st Reading from the book of Leviticus (Leviticus 13:1-
RESPONSORIAL PSALM 31
You are my refuge, O Lord; you fill me with the joy of salvation.
2nd Reading from the first letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 10:31-
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Alleluia, Alleluia! May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our mind, so that we can see what hope his call holds for us. Alleluia!
GOSPEL Mark 1:40-
COMMUNION ANTIPHON
They ate and were filled; the Lord gave them what they wanted; they were not deprived of their desire.
Teaching from the Readings
The ancient world was terrified of leprosy. By Jewish law the sufferer was isolated totally from society: “The leper...shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry, ‘Unclean, unclean’. He shall dwell alone in a habitation outside the camp” (Leviticus 13:45). The law specified further that a leper had to keep a distance of two metres from other people, and if the other person was downwind from the leper the distance had to be fifty metres. No leper would ever have approached an orthodox rabbi, but the leper in this story approached Jesus confidently for help. This was exceptional, but even more exceptional was what followed: “Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him....” That touch healed him: healed his disease, yes, but healed also his feeling that he not only had a disease but was a disease; it healed his isolation, his loneliness, his despair, his belief that he was cursed by God.... This is the God revealed by Jesus, a “Father of Mercies.”