Gospel (Lk 5,17-26) - One day Jesus was teaching. Pharisees and teachers of the Law also sat there, coming from every village of Galilee and Judea, and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord made him perform healings. And behold, some men, carrying a man who was paralyzed onto a bed, tried to bring him in and place him before him. Not finding which way to let him in because of the crowd, they climbed onto the roof and, through the tiles, lowered him and his bed in front of Jesus in the middle of the room. Seeing their faith, he said, "Man, your sins are forgiven." The scribes and Pharisees began to argue, saying: «Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, if not God alone?”. But Jesus, knowing their reasoning, replied: «Why do you think like this in your heart? Which is easier: to say «Your sins are forgiven», or to say «Rise up and walk»? Now, so that you may know that the Son of Man has the power on earth to forgive sins, I say to you - he said to the paralytic -: get up, take up your bed and go back to your house." Immediately he stood up before them, took the bed on which he was lying and went to his house, glorifying God. Everyone was amazed and gave glory to God; full of fear they said: "Today we have seen prodigious things."

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

Luke recounts this miracle which occurred in the presence, for the first time, of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. The evangelist Luke underlines the creativity of the love of those friends of the paralytic who at all costs wanted to bring the paralytic before Jesus. In fact, we could say that this miracle comes about thanks to their faith, a faith made, precisely, of love, tenacity, perseverance. They understood that the sick friend had to personally meet the young prophet of Nazareth. Seeing the crowd in front of the door, they uncover the roof and place him in front of Jesus. How much we must learn from this attitude! Often the friendship between us is superficial, sentimental, resigned. It's easy to say nothing can be done. And forget about each other. The example of that paralytic's friends urges us to rediscover passionate attention towards others, especially those who are sick, poor or defenceless. In Luke's narration, the concern for the sick man on the part of his friends is evident. They bring that friend to the center of the room so that he or she is the center of attention. Jesus, in fact, cares so much about the paralytic that he goes far beyond the expectations of those friends and those present. Turning to the paralytic he says to him: "Your sins are forgiven." Jesus also sees the heart of the paralytic and his need to be loved and forgiven. He gives him full health, that of the body and that of the heart.