We have a lovely story in today's Gospel. As Jesus entered a town he was met with a piteous sight - a man covered with leprosy. What was even more tragic was that it might not have been contagious leprosy but a skin disease which was not dangerous to others. But the man had to live in total isolation, despised and feared by everyone. He comes to Jesus full of faith - "If you want to help me, you can heal me." "Of course, I want to," said Jesus and healed him. He also did something no one else would have done - He touched the man. That alone had a healing effect. The man is then told to go to a Temple priest to have his healing confirmed, so that he could return to normal society. There may be no lepers as such in our society but we know that there are many people who, for one reason or another, have to spend their life in virtual isolation. Poor people, the homeless, streetsleepers, people of a different colour or race and many others. It is for each one of us to reach out to such people and be the instruments by which God's love reaches them.