Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Matthew (9: 1-8) in which Jesus, who cures the paralytic brought with faith to him, also draws attention to the importance of forgiveness in healing. In the Gospel today, Fr Paul says, the emphasis is on Jesus’s power as the Son of Man to forgive sins. The reaction of the onlookers is not just jaw-dropping astonishment, but it is a complete and utter feeling of awe at what Jesus does. It seems deliberate that at the end of the Gospel the crowd praises God for giving the power to forgive sins to humans and not just to Jesus.Today we are reminded of the power of Jesus and the power of forgiveness. Fr Paul invites us to consider ‘What is in my life at the moment that needs this power?