Wisdom 6:1-11; Psalm 82; Luke 17:11-19
Today’s gospel presents us with Jesus’ encounter with the ten lepers. He cures all ten but only one came back to thank him. The ingratitude of the others was not overlooked. Beloved, how often do we thank God for his blessings; the air we breathe, the rain, the sun, and countless favours we receive from him? Sometimes we take these things for granted. We don’t value them until we are in need of them. Let us be thankful if we want our tank to be full. The one who came back to express gratitude was further blessed with the grace for salvation.
Let us learn to be grateful; it turns what we have into enough and more. Gratitude empowers us to scale higher. We can’t scale to a higher level with ingratitude. A man who does not know how to give thanks will hardly move forward no matter how much he prays. A man who is not grateful will hardly live a great life. Until we thank God for where we are, we cannot move to where we are meant to be.
Today the Church celebrates the memorial of St. Leo the Great, pope and doctor, during whose pontificate the Council of Chalcedon (451) defined that Christ is one divine person with two natures, divine and human. He was a leader with so much insight and wisdom. As in today’s first reading, he governs the people in the name of God and was rewarded thereafter with eternal life. Beloved, let us learn to express God’s will in all our endeavours and be grateful for his gifts.
LET US PRAY
Father in Heaven, Creator of all and source of all goodness and love, please look kindly upon us and receive our heartfelt gratitude. Thank you for all the graces and blessings you have bestowed upon us, spiritual and temporal: our faith and religious heritage; our food and shelter, our health, the loves we have for one another, our family and friends. Dear Father, in your infinite generosity, please grant us continued graces and blessing both now and forever more. Amen. St. Martin of Tours, pray for us
