Reflection for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

2 Kings 5:14-17; Psalm 98; 2 Timothy 2:8-13; St. Luke 17:11-19

Where are the other nine?

A person who has been bedridden is grateful to God for the sunshine on the first day he can get out of bed. A person unjustly accused will thank her defenders when the accusation is proved false.  A saintly person will also forgive his accusers and ask God to bless them. Are you able to relate to any of these situations?

In today’s Gospel, ten lepers asked Jesus for pity and He healed them.  Leprosy is a cruel and contagious disease that disfigures the extremities, including the face.  The lepers must have really rejoiced in their cure. The stench and stigma were gone; they were free to return to their families, to re-enter society!

We know that only one leper returned to thank Jesus for being cured and Jesus remarked this.  It is easy to chastise, even mentally, the other nine.  However, haven’t we been given even greater freedom than these poor lepers?  The Baptism that made us children of the Father also eradicated original sin from our souls, giving us the freedom to earn heaven. How often do we thank God for this immense gift?

The beautiful second preface of the Mass we often hear the priest pray makes very clear how important it is to give thanks:

It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,

always and everywhere to give you thanks, Father

most holy, through your beloved Son, Jesus Christ….

The word “Eucharist” literally means “thanksgiving.”  Sacred Scripture also mentions frequently the virtue of gratitude, especially in the book of Psalms, the Holy Spirit’s gift of prayer and song to the Church.

Our big and small blessings deserve thanks each day.  I woke up this morning; many people didn’t. The sun is bright and highlights the leaves and flowers in our yard; my region is not having bad weather now (the Philippines have typhoons at this season and they suffered earthquakes last week.)  I was able to eat breakfast with my Sisters and we laughed about ducks in the courtyard of our nursing home in Wisconsin. Some people elsewhere had to share sad news today. The list of gratitude seems endless.  I can take so many things for granted!

Each one of our many saints has a particular “attitude” toward gratitude.  St. Ignatius of Loyola called it the first of virtues, or the foundational virtue.  Blessed Solanus Casey recommended that we thank God in advance. How does this virtue show up in your life?

In my opinion we need heaven to be eternal in order to render sufficient thanks to God for all He gives us.  Even our crosses and failures hide the benefits that God will bring out of them by His loving Divine Providence.

We Sisters of Charity thank our God for you, our good friends, too.

Let us “give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thess 5:18).”

“Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.”