Hopefully we all have a life that is very fulfilling and happy but we know there are some people who have suffered a tragedy in their lives, and they are profoundly unhappy. And they are living with a broken heart; for them happiness in only a memory. In today gospel we meet a man like that, he is a leper, he has lost his health, his family, his work, and his home. There is no hope for him; he has no future. He has also lost his dignity, people think his sickness is a punishment for his sins. He is ashamed, humiliated and isolated. One day he meets Jesus, He kneels before Jesus and makes this beautiful request, ‘If you wish you can cure me’; Jesus reaches out, and touches him. He says: ‘be cured’. Immediately the leprosy left him. He was now a new person. When Jesus saw the leper, while others would feel repulsion, Jesus felt compassion, He not only knows what this man is suffering, he feels his pain as if it were his own. One of the worst things that can happen to a human being is to be rejected to feel unloved, un-wanted and abandoned. Today we celebrate St. Valentine’s Day and this celebration underlies a very important part of our lives, we yearn to feel wanted, and loved. We all like to feel a sense of belonging; we like to feel we are important in someone’s life. Leprosy is not as common and widespread today as it was in Jesus’ time but some of the effects are similar to what we are experiencing with this coronavirus today. There are many people out there who feel ostracised, left out in our society, unwanted, unloved and forgotton. Jesus may not send us a Valentine’s card but he has written a book of unconditional love for every one of us. He accepts us for who we are despite all our failings. Jesus feels the same compassion for each of us as he felt for this man in the gospel today. He looks into our eyes with this same love and this same desire to heal us and support us. He is always there, always listening, always ready to help us. As followers of Jesus we should learn to accept others and to reach out to those who are suffering the pain of isolation, abandonment. He calls us to join him in his missioin of mercy, he wants us to be apotles of compassion, Do you know someone who is sad or diappointed, worried or deperate, isolated or abandoned, you can be the word of Jesus, you can be the hand of Jesus, for these people. Let’s sow seeds of hope, cheerfulness, joy, and happiness in this world that is overwhelmed by a constant flow of depressing news. Let’s rid ourselves of this anger, fear and anxiety that is predominant out there, because of this coronavirus and together we will get through the challenges we all are faced with.