“Appreciating and acknowledging the various gifts of God in our lives!”
(Based on Wis 6:1-11 and Lk 17:11-19 – Wednesday of the 32nd Week in Ordinary Time, Year 1)
During the dark days of the Second World War, two sisters, Corrie and Betsie ten Boom…
… were thrown into the Nazi concentration camp of Ravensbrück.
Their crime?
Hiding Jews in their home….
… for love of Christ.
Their barracks were overcrowded…
… and crawling with fleas.
The stench was unbearable.
The pain unending.
Corrie broke down in tears:
“Betsie, how can we live like this?”
And her sister, with eyes of faith, whispered:
“Corrie, our faith teaches us to “give thanks in all circumstances. Even for these fleas!”
Corrie thought it was madness.
Thank God for fleas?
But she obeyed.
Together, they began to pray and give thanks…
… even for the pests that tormented them.
Weeks later, they discovered something incredible: Because of those fleas, the guards refused to enter their barracks.
And that meant…
… they were free to live their faith, with prayer and reading the Bible
… they could even share the Love of Christ to people around them.
(Source: Corrie ten Boom, The Hiding Place, 1971)
What was to be a cause of complaint…
… became the very reason they could praise!
What looked like punishment…
… was actually protection!
The ungrateful heart complains!
The thankful heart witnesses miracles!
The Gospel of the Day is a reminder to grow in this dimension of appreciating and acknowledging the various gifts of God in our lives.
The story of the Healing of the Ten Lepers is a very familiar and popular incident.
In the Biblical days, leprosy, was one of the most dreaded diseases. Leprosy finds its mention in the Bible in over 40 places.
One of the reason why leprosy is talked about so much in the Bible is that it is a graphic illustration of sin’s destructive power.
Incurable by man, many believed that God inflicted the curse of leprosy upon people for the sins they committed.
Leprosy became a disease that was so despised and loathed that those afflicted were not allowed to live in any community with their own people (Numbers 5:2).
A leper wasn’t allowed to come within six feet of any other human, including his own family.
The disease was considered so revolting that the leper wasn’t permitted to come within 150 feet of anyone when the wind was blowing.
Lepers lived in a community with other lepers until they either got better or died.
This was the only way the people knew to contain the spread of the contagious forms of this dreaded sickness.
When the Lord travelled through the region of Samaria and Galilee, He encountered the group of ten lepers.
In loud exaltation, they cried, “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!” (Lk 17:13)
The chorus reached the ears of the Divine Choir-Master, Jesus!
Their pleading voice, echoed in the ears of the Divine Healer!
“Go, show yourselves to the Priest” (Lk 17: 14) were the words of the Divine Lord.
Lev 14:1-9 states that the priest must authenticate any cure from leprosy.
This was to allow the afflicted person to re-enter the society.
But as the lepers are on their way to show to the priest, they are cured!
Miracles occur, when one chooses to put one’s trust in God!
Wonders happen, when one obeys the words of the Lord, in faith and hope!
But one of them realizes that He had been healed.
And so he returned and glorified God in a loud voice and fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked Him (Lk 17: 15)
Here is a big lesson for us all…
All the ten lepers sought for a free blessing from the Lord.
Jesus, in His graciousness, did bless all of them with a free miracle.
But just one among them, acknowledged the worth and value of that free gift
The rest of the nine, probably completely forgot the source of that free blessing.
A thankful heart witnesses miracles!
But perhaps, this is a reality that we very often forget in our lives.
We take for granted the many many free gifts and blessings that are showered upon us.
The one who returned back to thank the Lord, received not just physical healing…
… but also was doubly blessed with the gift of being saved!
The Lord showers His gifts on us…
Do I return back to thank God for His marvelous blessings?
Do I reduce my life to being a clatter of complaints or do I adorn my life with a litany of praises and thanksgiving?
Do I take all my blessings for granted and merely groan about my duties?
Ten people were healed that day, but only one came back to give thanks.
The one who returned to give thanks chose not to forget what Jesus had done for him.
Are we living as this grateful one or as the other nine?
We may often be in the “confinements of troubles”
… with many “fleas of hardships” making life super-tough!
Can we still respond to our faith…
… and “give thanks in all circumstances. Even for those fleas!”
Praise is a choice.
A thankful heart is a choice.
The secret of a thankful heart is a conscious choice not to forget what God has done for us.
Shall we also possess this secret?
(Psst…once again…this too is a FREE offer…. )
We seek today the intercession of St Josaphat, a Bishop of the Eastern Church in the 17th century.
He gave his life striving to heal the divisions between Catholics and Orthodox…
… and to restore unity in the Body of Christ.
He reminds us that true gratitude to God is shown not only in words…
… but in working for peace and reconciliation among His children.
God Bless! Live Jesus!
📖 Discovering the beauty of the Catholic Church through the Catechism
MAN’S VOCATION LIFE IN THE SPIRIT – GOD’S SALVATION: LAW AND GRACE – The Sixth Commandment – You shall not commit adultery – Male and Female He created them
People should cultivate [chastity] in the way that is suited to their state of life.
Some profess virginity or consecrated celibacy which enables them to give themselves to God alone with an undivided heart in a remarkable manner. (CCC # 2349)
Reflection Capsules 