<<When one has seen the spectacle of the youth from Cenacolo, they can’t forget the scene of the ten lepers: how they came, a spectacle of misery! I’ve really seen lepers in Nigeria, along the street, that held out deformed hands, with ruined faces! But there is no situation too desperate for God, for Jesus. Even leprosy, one of the most miserable illnesses that exists, is not able to turn Jesus away so that he won’t look. He sees, and touches. This is a real tangible sign of his mercy. What can we do so that we can be touched by the mercy of Jesus? We need the truth. There is the beautiful scene of the Samaritan: this woman goes to the fountain in the middle of the day so that she can be sure that there will not be anyone else. She is ashamed and afraid; she knows what the others say about her. However, with Jesus, all that she was afraid to speak of became a meeting place. The truth sets us free: finally, we do not need to hide ourselves anymore! I think that this is something that many of you have experienced: that when you begin to let the truth enter into your life, it’s liberating. The freedom of Jesus doesn’t condemn or judge. In this look of truth and of mercy, the woman feels welcomed, freed, that she can lead the entire village to Jesus. This is your vocation, to lead many people to Jesus. So that you can say, Jesus has allowed me to live the truth in my life; I don’t want to hide my wounds anymore, my mistakes, and the disasters of my past. I can say, “Come and see, here there is a man who told me everything that I had done.” You all can lead your friends to Jesus.This truth, united with mercy has descended amongst us.>>
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