handicaps

¹⁴You shall not speak evil of the deaf, nor shall you place a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear the Lord your God, for I am the Lord.

¹And Jesus, while passing by, saw a man blind from birth. ²And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” ³Jesus responded: “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but it was so that the works of God would be made manifest in him.

³⁰And great multitudes came to him, having with them the mute, the blind, the lame, the disabled, and many others. And they cast them down at his feet, and he cured them, ³¹so much so that the crowds wondered, seeing the mute speaking, the lame walking, the blind seeing. And they magnified the God of Israel.

¹¹The Lord said to him: “Who made the mouth of man? And who has formed the mute and the deaf, the seeing and the blind? Was it not I?

¹⁷Say to Aaron: A man from your offspring, throughout their families, who has a blemish, shall not offer the bread to his God. ¹⁸Neither shall he approach to minister to him: if he is blind, if he is lame, if he is small, or large, or has a crooked nose, ¹⁹if his foot or hand is broken, ²⁰if he has a bulging back or bleary eyes, or if he has a white spot in his eye, or a chronic scab, or a skin disease on his body, or a hernia. ²¹Anyone from the offspring of Aaron, the priest, who has a blemish, shall not approach to offer sacrifices to the Lord, nor the bread to his God. ²²Nevertheless, he shall eat from the loaves which are offered in the Sanctuary.

¹Now Peter and John went up to the temple at the ninth hour of prayer. ²And a certain man, who was lame from his mother’s womb, was being carried in. They would lay him every day at the gate of the temple, which is called the Beautiful, so that he might request alms from those entering into the temple. ³And this man, when he had seen Peter and John beginning to enter the temple, was begging, so that he might receive alms. ⁴Then Peter and John, gazing at him, said, “Look at us.” ⁵And he looked intently at them, hoping that he might receive something from them. ⁶But Peter said: “Silver and gold is not mine. But what I have, I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, rise up and walk.”

¹And after some days, he again entered into Capernaum. ²And it was heard that he was in the house. And so many gathered that there was no room left, not even at the door. And he spoke the word to them. ³And they came to him, bringing a paralytic, who was being carried by four men. ⁴And when they were not able to present him to him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where he was. And opening it, they lowered down the stretcher on which the paralytic was lying. ⁵Then, when Jesus had seen their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” ⁶But some of the scribes were sitting in that place and thinking in their hearts:

²²In fact, so much more necessary are those parts of the body which seem to be weaker.

⁵Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be cleared. ⁶Then the disabled will leap like a buck, and the tongue of the mute will be untied. For the waters have burst forth in the desert, and torrents in solitary places.

¹³But when you prepare a feast, call the poor, the disabled, the lame, and the blind.

²²And responding, he said to them: “Go and report to John what you have heard and seen: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead rise again, the poor are evangelized.

¹And David said, “Do you think that there could be anyone left from the house of Saul, so that I might show mercy to him because of Jonathan?” ²Now there was, from the house of Saul, a servant named Ziba. And when the king had called him to himself, he said to him, “Are you not Ziba?” And he responded, “I am your servant.” ³And the king said, “Could there be anyone alive from the house of Saul, so that I may show the mercy of God to him?” And Ziba said to the king, “There is left alive a son of Jonathan, with disabled feet.” ⁴“Where is he?” he said. And Ziba said to the king, “Behold, he is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lodebar.” ⁵Therefore, king David sent and brought him from the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, from Lodebar. ⁶And when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come to David, he fell upon his face, and he reverenced. And David said, “Mephibosheth?” And he responded, “Your servant is here.”

⁴And Jesus, responding, said to them: “Go and report to John what you have heard and seen. ⁵The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead rise again, the poor are evangelized.

¹After these things, there was a feast day of the Jews, and so Jesus ascended to Jerusalem. ²Now at Jerusalem is the Pool of Evidence, which in Hebrew is known as the Place of Mercy; it has five porticos. ³Along these lay a great multitude of the sick, the blind, the lame, and the withered, waiting for the movement of the water. ⁴Now at times an Angel of the Lord would descend into the pool, and so the water was moved. And whoever descended first into the pool, after the motion of the water, he was healed of whatever infirmity held him. ⁵And there was a certain man in that place, having been in his infirmity for thirty-eight years. ⁶Then, when Jesus had seen him reclining, and when he realized that he had been afflicted for a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?”

¹²Then he also said to the one who had invited him: “When you prepare a lunch or dinner, do not choose to call your friends, or your brothers, or your relatives, or your wealthy neighbors, lest perhaps they might then invite you in return and repayment would made to you. ¹³But when you prepare a feast, call the poor, the disabled, the lame, and the blind. ¹⁴And you will be blessed because they do not have a way to repay you. So then, your recompense will be in the resurrection of the just.”

¹⁷And it happened, on a certain day, that he again sat down, teaching. And there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting nearby, who had come from every town of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present, to heal them. ¹⁸And behold, some men were carrying in the bed of a man who was paralyzed. And they sought a way to bring him in, and to place him before him. ¹⁹And not finding a way by which they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they climbed up to the roof, and they let him down through the roof tiles with his bed, into their midst, in front of Jesus. ²⁰And when he saw his faith, he said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” ²¹And the scribes and Pharisees began to think, saying: “Who is this, who is speaking blasphemies? Who is able to forgive sins, except God alone?” ²²But when Jesus realized their thoughts, responding, he said to them: “What are you thinking in your hearts?

¹And climbing into a boat, he crossed the sea, and he arrived at his own city. ²And behold, they brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, “Be strengthened in faith, son; your sins are forgiven you.” ³And behold, some of the scribes said within themselves, “He is blaspheming.” ⁴And when Jesus had perceived their thoughts, he said: “Why do you think such evil in your hearts? ⁵Which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise up and walk?’ ⁶But, so that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins,” he then said to the paralytic, “Rise up, take up your bed, and go into your house.”

¹³But when you prepare a feast, call the poor, the disabled, the lame, and the blind. ¹⁴And you will be blessed because they do not have a way to repay you. So then, your recompense will be in the resurrection of the just.”

¹⁴And the blind and the lame drew near to him in the temple; and he healed them.

⁷And lest the greatness of the revelations should extol me, there was given to me a prodding in my flesh: an angel of Satan, who struck me repeatedly. ⁸Because of this, three times I petitioned the Lord that it might be taken away from me. ⁹And he said to me: “My grace is sufficient for you. For virtue is perfected in weakness.” And so, willingly shall I glory in my weaknesses, so that the virtue of Christ may live within me. ¹⁰Because of this, I am pleased in my infirmity: in reproaches, in difficulties, in persecutions, in distresses, for the sake of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am powerful.