Today is the Memorial of St. Anthony. The Gospel reading from Mark 2 tells the healing of a paralytic by our Lord. Four men brought the paralytic to see Jesus. Unable to get near him because of the crowd, they opened up the roof above him and let down the mat on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Child, your sins are forgiven." Some of the scribes present asked themselves, "He is blaspheming. Who but God alone can forgive sins?" Jesus immediately knew what they were thinking. To show that he has authority to forgive sins on earth, he said to the paralytic, "Rise, pickup your mat, and go home." He did as he was told in the sight of everyone.
I do not know the age of the paralytic. He could be older and not much younger than the Lord. Anyway, the fact that he called him "Child" strikes me that he was speaking to him as God. As always, Jesus knew what people were thinking or what they were going to do. I find great consolation in knowing that God knows all about me and all my thoughts. It would be terribly lonely to know that there is not a single soul out there who can fully understand you. Being aware that the Lord knows all about me guards me against losing my way. Furthermore, it keeps me on the path to becoming holy and more perfect.
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