Category: Uncategorized

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Gospel: Luke 17: 11-19

As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem,
he traveled through Samaria and Galilee.
As he was entering a village, ten lepers met him.
They stood at a distance from him and raised their voice, saying,
“Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!”
And when he saw them, he said,
“Go show yourselves to the priests.”
As they were going they were cleansed.
And one of them, realizing he had been healed,
returned, glorifying God in a loud voice;
and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.
He was a Samaritan.
Jesus said in reply,
“Ten were cleansed, were they not?
Where are the other nine?
Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?”
Then he said to him, “Stand up and go;
your faith has saved you.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Leprosy was a slow death sentence. 

Long before a person died physically, they were stripped of their home, their family, and their dignity.

If there is any good in this lonely Gospel story prior to the lepers’ encounter with Jesus, it is this: leprosy dissolved the racial and national barriers that kept these Jews and this sole Samaritan apart. Under any other circumstance, they were sworn enemies.

But in this woeful colony of exiles, they were simply human beings in need, together. The boundaries that once defined their lives had been erased by their common affliction. 

Suddenly, they hear Jesus of Nazareth is nearing. Like street dogs barking uncontrollably, each with a makeshift collar and a bell jingling around their neck, they cry out in unison, “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!”

Moved with compassion, the Lord heals them.

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Notice, however, when all ten lepers wanted something from Jesus, they cried out in unison. But when it was time to give thanks, those ten desperate voices lowered down to one. 

How does the intensity of our own prayer life change when we want something from Jesus versus when we thank him? Do we pray harder in our need than we do in our gratitude?

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Although we can never repay the Lord for his goodness to us, especially for healing us from the “leprosy” of sin and death, we should thank him in three particular ways. 

Pray in gratitude as often as we pray in petition; praise him wholeheartedly as a community of faith; and serve him in our neighbor. 

May we spend our lives in gratitude so that the Lord may say to us what he said to that sole leper, “Your faith has saved you.”

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Image credits: (1) God’s Fingerprint (2) The Leper and Evangelization, Word on Fire (3) Pinterest

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Gospel: Matthew 25: 31-40

Jesus said to his disciples:
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory,
and all the angels with him,
he will sit upon his glorious throne,
and all the nations will be assembled before him.
And he will separate them one from another,
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Then the king will say to those on his right,
‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father.
Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me drink,
a stranger and you welcomed me,
naked and you clothed me,
ill and you cared for me,
in prison and you visited me.’
Then the righteous will answer him and say,
‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,
or thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you a stranger and welcome you,
or naked and clothe you?
When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’
And the king will say to them in reply,
‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did
for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.'”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Today we celebrate both the Feast of Saint Martin of Tours and Veterans’ Day.

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Born shortly after the legalization of Christianity in the early 4^th century, Martin was bred to be a warrior. His father was a senior officer in the Roman military, who named his son after Mars, the Roman god of war.

As the son of a veteran officer, Martin was required to enter into military service at the age of 15, though reluctantly. He was baptized sometime thereafter and quickly felt the burden of being a Christian.

Shortly before a battle was set to begin, Martin switched his allegiance from Julian the Emperor to Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. “I am the soldier of Christ,” he said, “it is not lawful for me to fight.” 

He was charged with cowardice and was jailed, but later released after volunteering to go to the front lines unarmed. Fortunately, peace terms were established before the battle began, and Martin was released from service. 

He made his way back home and converted his mother to Christianity, but not his father. For some years thereafter, he lived the solitary life of a hermit. But word of his good character spread far enough that Martin was eventually ordained a bishop. 

Legend has it that, aware of this plot to consecrate him a bishop, he hid in a barn full of geese. The geese, unhappy with his intrusion, gave him up. Humbled, Martin accepted his cross, becoming the second bishop of Tours.

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Of all the stories told, he is most famous for a gesture he performed in his youth. While still in military service, he passed by a scantily clad beggar. Moved with compassion, Martin cut his cloak in half, dressing the man.

That night, Christ appeared to him in a dream, thanking him for the warmth.

On this Veteran’s Day, Martin reminds us of our common call to strive for peace, to be soldiers for Christ, to fight the good fight, and to give ourselves away for the sake of others.

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Like Martin and our nation’s vets, how might we be of service to others today?

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Image credits: (1) Farmer’s Almanac (2) Saint Martin Dividing His Cloak, Anthony van Dyck (3) The Vital Edge, Gideon Rosenblatt

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Gospel: Luke 17: 1-6

Jesus said to his disciples,
“Things that cause sin will inevitably occur,
but woe to the one through whom they occur.
It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck
and he be thrown into the sea
than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.
Be on your guard!
If your brother sins, rebuke him;
and if he repents, forgive him.
And if he wrongs you seven times in one day
and returns to you seven times saying, ‘I am sorry,’
you should forgive him.”

And the Apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”
The Lord replied, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed,
you would say to this mulberry tree,
‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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The Japanese have a fascinating custom called Kintsugi. 

When an object breaks, they don’t throw it away; rather, they piece it back together using gold flecked with glue. They say that breakage and repair are all part of the history of the object; the focus is not on the breakage, but on the fact that the object was repaired.

In fact, some artists will intentionally break an object in order to celebrate the art of restoration.

Or, using today’s Gospel imagery, the art of forgiveness.

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Much like breathing, forgiveness is an exercise essential to healthy living in this world, because none of us is perfect. We’ve all made mistakes; we all carry regret; we’ve all been hurt.

Sometimes, we need to forgive people – even those who are not sorry – in order to expel any anger from our heart. But today Jesus addresses a fuller exercise of forgiveness whereby there is reconciliation.

 “If your brother or sister repents,” he says, “forgive them.”

Forgiveness in this sense acknowledges there’s been a break in a relationship, but both parties desire to repair it. 

The Apostles acknowledge how hard it can be to let hurt feelings go, even if the other person is sorry, causing them to cry out, “Increase our faith!”

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May God soften our hearts, so that our outlook is never centered on the fact that we’ve been broken.

Rather, on the possibility of being restored.

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Image credits: (1) Cara Ray’s (2) Zen Art Gallery (3) Our Sunday Visitor