A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark.

A person with leprosy approached Jesus, knelt down and besought him and said, “If you are willing, you can heal me.”  Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out a hand, touched the person with leprosy, and said: “I am willing.  Be cleansed.”  Immediately the leprosy disappeared.  Jesus gave a stern warning and sent the person off.  “Not a word to anyone,” Jesus said. “Go off and present yourself to the priest and offer for your cure what Moses prescribed.  That should be proof for them.”  But the person who had been cured went off and began to proclaim the whole matter freely, making the story public.  As a result of this, it was no longer possible for Jesus to enter a town openly, and Jesus stayed in deserted places.  Even so, people kept coming to him from all directions.

The Good News as spoken through Mark.