Good morning, good people. May the Lord bless us with peace, grace, and good health in the Holy Spirit. It is 15th January 2026.
Today we reflect on 1 Samuel 4:1–11 and Mark 1:40–45.
Are we using sacramentals as lucky charms?
We pray with the psalmist: “Save us, Lord, in your mercy” (Ps 44:26).
At times we are shaken when God does not act as swiftly as we expect, especially when the waters of hopelessness rise above our lives. Yet God is not an insurance policy, a last resort, or an emergency button. God is an assuring presence in every finite moment of life. Faith is not a lucky charm, a crisis autopilot, or a parachute for a dishonest life.
God is neither magic nor medicine, neither a warrior nor a warmonger. God has never fought a war to remain God. Still, even today, in the name of God, people divide and destroy. When God is kept at a distance, life cannot generate hope in moments of trial.
In the first reading, Israel, having kept God far from daily life, rushed to the Ark of the Covenant only when war threatened. Though God’s presence surrounded the Ark, their lives were not centered on Him.
In the Gospel, God has no second thought about healing. The leper’s cry is ours: “If you want to, you can heal me.” Deeply moved, Jesus touches him and says, “I do want to. Be healed.” God’s healing hands remain extended to us, even when we have not fully bowed to receive them.
Let us ask Jesus for the grace to receive His healing touch, with faith that brings true and integral healing. God bless you.