28TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME C

SIMPLY GRATEFUL

Today we have strong reminder that gratitude is a sign of a faith-filled heart. Children are trained to constantly say “thank you.”  And growing up, this attitude is reinforced in most of us. Why is it though that as adults, the one thing easiest to neglect is to be grateful?

Gratitude is connected to memory. Remembrance of goodness disposes a person’s heart to give thanks. In the first reading, from the Second Book of Kings, Naaman, healed of leprosy, makes a return voyage to Israel to thank the prophet Elisha and to collect some soil to be kept as remembrance. In the second reading, St. Paul reminds Timothy of the greatness and goodness of the Lord Jesus Christ so that he will remain faithful.  And the Gospel (Luke 17) recounts the pleasure of Jesus as he welcomes the one former leper among the ten he healed, who retraces his steps to express gratitude and adoration.

When we remember then we are overwhelmed by grace. When God touches our hearts, it becomes almost an instinct to give thanks. As Catholics how do we “return” like Naaman and the former leper, to give thanks to the Lord?

First, we give thanks through the Eucharist we celebrate.  Isn’t it that every Eucharist, every Holy Mass, whatever its intention, is foremost a thanksgiving?  As Jesus welcomed with joy the returning former leper I am certain that he is equally pleased with those who make the decision to come each Sunday to the Mass. Just as he missed the nine other healed lepers, I can just imagine how he longs for the so many of us Catholics who neglect this Sunday commitment.

Even the heart of God is capable of being touched with joy at the remembrance of his people, just as it is also capable of being crushed at our sins and ingratitude.  The Mass is the least we can do to give thanks. Our hearts desire to “return” to the Lord and do him homage. 

Everything in the Mass is about gratitude.  “Thanks be to God.” “Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.” “Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.”

Second, we give thanks through the gestures of gratitude we give others each single day.  We give thanks after receiving a gift or a big favor. But do we remember to give thanks to the simple people who serve our needs? Anyone of you ever thank the waiter, the driver, the vendor, the repair man, the housemate who cooks the food and the family provider who gives the allowance?  Watch what happens when you start to say thank you even for the small things and to the small people in our lives.

When we thank people around us, we acknowledge that they have been instruments of God to help and assist us, to fill us with joy and to bless us with God’s presence. In other words, we give thanks by giving thanks.  Let us be faithful to remember God’s graciousness in the Eucharist and to recall how good God is through the people who show kindness to us.