Four friends bring a paralytic whom they are eager to see rid of a disease that keeps him on a stretcher. After strenuous effort to carry him to Jesus, they hear these words : "My son, your sins are forgiven."

They did not expect to hear these words from the Master to the invalid. But Christ lets us see that "the worst of all oppressions" - the most tragic of all slaveries from which we may suffer - is "the slavery to sin". It is not just one evil among the many others that afflict us, but the gravest, the only thing that is evil in absolute terms.

The men carrying the paralytic understand that Jesus has given their paralyzed friend the greatest good - the freedom from his sins. And we should not forget what a great contribution to the common good it is to do everything possible to exile sin from the world. After forgiving the paralytic his sins, Jesus healed his physical infirmity. That man must have understood in that moment that his great good fortune was the first healing: to feel his soul pierced through and through by Divine Mercy, and be able to look at Jesus with a clean heart.

The paralytic was healed body and soul. And his friends are an example for us today of how we should help others through our friendship mainly, cooperating in apostolic initiatives, fostering the good of society with the means at our disposal, working for the common good for a decent life and culture, offering positive solutions when faced with evil.