The Baggages We Carry

Reflection Date: July 02, 2026 | Thursday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Daily Readings: Amos 7:10-17;  Matthew 9:1-8

Children of God:
In the early years of Christianity, confession was not done quietly inside a confessional box but publicly before the Christian community. 

Christians who committed serious sins like murder, adultery, or denying the faith stood before the Church and admitted their sins openly. 

They then performed public penance that sometimes lasted for months or even years. 

Some wore rough clothing, fasted often, and stayed at the back of the church during worship. 

The community prayed for them while they slowly journeyed back toward reconciliation. 

As centuries passed, Irish monks introduced the practice of private confession, where sins were confessed personally to a priest. 

This practice spread throughout Europe because people found it more personal, gentle, and spiritually helpful. 

During the Middle Ages, confession became more organized, and the Church encouraged Catholics to confess at least once a year. 

Eventually, confessionals appeared inside churches to protect privacy and encourage honesty. 

Today, confession remains a sacred encounter where wounded people meet the mercy of God and begin again.

In the gospel of Matthew, people brought a paralyzed man to Jesus. 

Before healing the man’s body, Jesus first healed his soul and said, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” (Matthew 9:2). 

The people around Him became shocked because they thought only God could forgive sins. 

Jesus then healed the man physically to show that His mercy reached both body and soul. 

What are our inspirations for today?

First, forgiveness gives strength to rise again.

Many people think forgiveness is only about the afterlife, but forgiveness also changes the way we live now. 

A person carrying guilt often loses peace, confidence, and hope. 

Some people cannot move forward because they are chained to past mistakes. 

Like the paralyzed man, they feel trapped inside something heavy. 

Jesus knows the heart also needed healing.

When Jesus forgave the man before healing his body, He showed that spiritual healing mattered deeply. 

The Lord saw beyond the visible sickness and touched the hidden wounds first. 

Sometimes we focus only on external problems while ignoring the deeper pain inside. 

Yet Jesus reminded everyone that healing begins within the soul.

Many people today avoid confession because they feel ashamed or afraid. 

Some think God is tired of hearing the same sins again and again. 

But confession is not a courtroom where God humiliates sinners. 

Confession is a place where exhausted people encounter mercy and start again. 

Every absolution is an invitation to stand up, walk forward, and believe that grace still works in imperfect lives.

Forgiveness gives strength to rise again.

Second, faith carries people closer to healing.

The paralyzed man did not reach Jesus alone because other people carried him. 

Their faith became part of his healing journey. 

The story showed how God often used relationships to bring hope to struggling people. 

Sometimes a friend, a parent, a priest, or even a stranger helped someone return to God. 

Faith was never meant to be lived alone.

The people who carried the paralyzed man probably felt tired and inconvenienced, yet they did not stop helping him. 

Love pushed them forward. 

In many families today, there is someone emotionally paralyzed by addiction, depression, resentment, or hopelessness. 

Some have stopped praying. 

Some have stopped believing in themselves. 

Others smile outside but quietly suffer inside. 

The gospel story invited us to become people who carry others closer to Jesus through patience, understanding, prayer, and presence.

Jesus also noticed the faith of the people around the man. 

“When Jesus saw their faith...” (Matthew 9:2). 

That line reminded us that our faith can strengthen others: a simple invitation to Mass, a listening ear, a kind message, or sincere forgiveness may become the bridge that helps someone heal. 

Sometimes people cannot walk toward God alone, and God sends us to walk beside them.

Faith carries people closer to healing

As we reflect today, do we still carry hidden guilt that prevents us from fully living in peace and joy? 

Do we become instruments of healing for struggling people, or do we ignore those who silently suffer beside us? Do we trust that Jesus still has the power to forgive, restore, and help us rise again no matter how wounded we feel?

Children of God:
The paralyzed man walked home not only healed physically but also renewed spiritually. 

That same mercy continues today through prayer, reconciliation, and the loving presence of people around us. 

God does not wait for perfect people before giving grace. 

He welcomes tired sinners who are willing to return to Him with humble hearts. 

May we never become afraid of mercy because God’s compassion is always greater than our failures.