Gospel (Mt 8.1-4) - When Jesus came down from the mountain, a large crowd followed him. And behold, a leper approached, prostrated himself before him and said: "Lord, if you want, you can purify me". He stretched out his hand and touched him saying: «I want it: be purified!». And immediately his leprosy was healed. Then Jesus said to him: «Be careful not to tell anyone; go instead and show yourself to the priest and present the offering prescribed by Moses as a testimony for them."

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

Jesus has just finished delivering the Sermon on the Mount, in front of a large crowd. He called blessed the poor, the afflicted, the meek and those who hunger and thirst for justice. Now he comes down from the mountain, as Moses came down from the mountain, with the tablets of the law. And behold, a leper comes running before the law of love that Jesus has just proclaimed. A man who the law had kept isolated in his illness and impurity, considered contagious. «Lord, if you want, you can purify me!». It is a simple prayer, but full of faith: "If you want". Jesus, who will later say to the disciples "knock and it will be opened to you", immediately opens the door of his mercy, stretches out his hand, touches the leper and speaks to him. And leprosy disappears. Jesus is not afraid to stop in front of that sick person: he takes care of him, touches him and says words of affection to him. So he heals him. Jesus - who goes beyond ritual provisions - shows his disciples how to be close to those in need, how to take care of them. This is the meaning of listening, of the hand that extends to touch that leper, of the words that he addresses to him. And he clearly states what God's will is: "I want it: be purified." This must always also be the will of the disciples and of every Christian community. If Jesus teaches us how to welcome, at the same time, through this leper, he teaches us how we must stand before him. We stretch out our hand to him and he heals us.