One of the great lessons we learn from today’s Gospel is the greatness of having a spirit of thankfulness. It runs deeper than only saying “thank you” to someone who does something nice for us. Saying thank you is important of course, but isn’t it true that oftentimes we say “thank you” but rally have not yet developed a spirit of thankfulness? A spirit of thankfulness is also called gratitude. Saying “thank you” is oftentimes more an act of politeness than of gratitude. However, having a spirit of thankfulness or gratitude goes far beyond only saying “thank you.” When we practice thankfulness, we recognize how generous is God’s love for us. It leads us to show our appreciation for one another’s kindness in the same Godlike way. As the great spiritual guide Meister Eckhart said, “If in your lifetime the only prayer you offer is one of gratitude, that would suffice.” To show gratitude for God and to God is always an appropriate response. In short, gratitude should be a way of being in the world for us Christians. However, often we are like the nine lepers in the Gospel who only said “thank you” to Jesus for healing them, then went off on their own merry way without changing any behavior. We are called to be like the one leper out of ten who goes back to thank Him and demonstrates his gratitude in a very concrete way. He gets on his knees and glorifies God in a loud voice. In other words, he makes an act of faith and begins to follow Jesus. Isn’t it true that true gratitude leads to deeper faith, which in turn becomes greater charity? This Gospel reminded me of a wedding I once took part in, with a newly married couple who were people of great faith. Any wedding gifts or proceeds that went to them were in turn donated to their local charity. Their gratitude to God for giving them to each other as spouses was so great that it led them to deeper faith and great charity. I will never forget their example to all present of how to live in a spirit of thankfulness. We need to develop gratitude as a natural reaction to what God had done for us and is doing in our lives. For what do you need to give gratitude to God for this day?

                                                                         ~ Fr. John