© Parish of The English Martyrs Mark 2:1-12 ¹ When he returned to Capernaum, some time later word went round that he was in the house; ² and so many people collected that there was no room left, even in front of the door. He was preaching the word to them ³ when some people came bringing him a paralytic carried by four men, ⁴ but as they could not get the man to him through the crowd, they stripped the roof over the place where Jesus was; and when they had made an opening, they lowered the stretcher on which the paralytic lay. ⁵ Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, 'My child, your sins are forgiven.' ⁶ Now some scribes were sitting there, and they thought to themselves, ⁷ 'How can this man talk like that? He is being blasphemous. Who but God can forgive sins?' ⁸ And at once, Jesus, inwardly aware that this is what they were thinking, said to them, 'Why do you have these thoughts in your hearts? ⁹ Which of these is easier: to say to the paralytic, "Your sins are forgiven" or to say, "Get up, pick up your stretcher and walk"? ¹⁰ But to prove to you that the Son of man has authority to forgive sins on earth' -- ¹¹ he said to the paralytic-'I order you: get up, pick up your stretcher, and go off home.' ¹² And the man got up, and at once picked up his stretcher and walked out in front of everyone, so that they were all astonished and praised God saying, 'We have never seen anything like this.' The Palsied Man Let Down through the Roof TISSOT, James 1886-94 Opaque watercolour over graphite on grey wove paper Brooklyn Museum, New York Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time. 19th February 2012