“For greater things you were born.” (Ven. Mother Luisita)
SUNDAY, June 27th Mk. 5: 21-43 “One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward. Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying, ‘My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live.’”
- Jesus performs two miracles today. For us this isn’t anything new. We’ve seen Jesus work many miracles as we have walked through the Gospels with Him! But for the person He heals, it is something new and totally amazing.
- Today, the woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years. “She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors and spent all that she had. Yet she was not helped but only grew worse.” She has nothing left! Still she says, “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.” What faith!!!
- Next the daughter of Jairus? Whose heart does not go out to this desperate father? Then he finds out his daughter has already died! Jesus himself has to reassure this father, “Do not be afraid; just have faith.”
- Have you ever been at that point in your life? “Lord, there is no one who can help me now, but you.” And did He help you? Maybe not in the way you expected, but when you look back, it was the perfect way?
- Hopefully we have all experienced His healing touch in unexpected but very real ways. Today’s meditation is about thanking Jesus for those times we found streams of healing waters, where before we saw only salt deserts.
ATTITUDE OF PERPETUAL GRATITUDE. THE STORY OF THE TEN LEPERS. (Luke 17: 11-19)
A Biblical passage that elicits profound joy, but at the same time intense sadness, is when Jesus heals the ten men afflicted with the terrible, contagious, terminal, and ugly disease of leprosy—a disease that was highly prevalent in the Biblical times before Jesus and during the lifetime of Jesus on earth.
THE PROFOUND JOY. Their overflowing joy flows from the fact that the love, mercy, and compassion of Jesus were made manifest with a mere word when He healed these poor men whom society had ostracized and marginalized. As they headed on their way to the priest, their healing was both immediate and total. Can you imagine their exuberant and overflowing joy—this terrible disease gone in an instant??? Still more, imagine the joy of their relatives upon seeing them!
THE INTENSE SORROW OF THE HEART OF JESUS. Intermingled with the joy of the healed lepers is the surprise and obvious sorrow of Jesus. His words: “Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?” (Lk. 17:17-18). It is an interesting detail, but of great importance: it is only the foreigner, a Samaritan, who returns, prostrates himself, and profusely thanks Jesus from the depths of his entire being.
MODERN WORLD: LOSING THE SOCIAL VIRTUES. We are living in a world in which the social virtues, that are the condiment of social existence, are being lost, most specifically, the virtue of Gratitude. If you like, we have lost the cultivation of an Attitude of Gratitude. Two of the key phrases to condiment and embellish social existence are the following: Please and Thank You! Another two, related to the virtue of humility, are: I’m Sorry and I Forgive You!
WISDOM ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE.
The famous Dominican scholar and mystic, Meister Eckhart, asserted: “If the only prayer we said was Thank You, that would be enough.”
In Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth, we read: “More painful than a serpent’s tooth is that of an ungrateful child.”
The Psalmist invites all to render thanks in these words: “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His mercy endures forever.” (Ps 136:1)
The great Apostle to the Gentiles, Saint Paul, stated: “Give thanks to God on all occasions.” (1 Thess 5:18)
The Master, the Lord Jesus Himself, while at the Last Supper and in the context of the institution of the Eucharist, took bread and gave thanks. Not a surprise that the word Eucharist actually means “Thanksgiving”. (Mt. 26:26)
Every year, on the fourth Thursday of the month in November, families in the United States come together to share a sumptuous meal, but even more important, the families come together to celebrate one of the most important Holidays and that is Thanksgiving Day. On this day especially, families should recall the abundant gifts they have received from the bounteous hands of a loving and generous God and render copious thanks!
Therefore, it is more than appropriate that we offer a heartfelt hymn of praise and thanksgiving as we enumerate reasons and purposes why thanksgiving should flow spontaneously and profusely from our grateful hearts. The list could be endless, but we would invite all to give thanks in ten specific areas where gratitude indeed is merited. May this humble and brief reflection serve as a springboard to bolster and strengthen your own personal prayer life! “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; for His mercy endures forever.” (Ps 136:1) May this prayer of the Psalmist resonate in the depths of our hearts!
1. THE GIFT OF LIFE. Jesus said: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” (Jn 14:6) He also said: “I have come that you may have life and life in abundance.” (Jn 10:10) One of the greatest gifts that the Author of all life has given to us is Life! Let us constantly thank God for our life, and use all the gifts that flow from our life to praise and glorify God and save souls! More than 60 million babies have been deprived of life since the Supreme Court decision Roe vs. Wade, Jan 22, 1973. We thank our mothers for saying YES to life! Let us promote life! A suggestion: if possible, view the movie GOSNEL. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, this movie will motivate you to be more grateful for your gift of life and to be a zealous defender of life from the moment of conception until natural death. Another powerful pro-life movie to see is UNPLANNED. This movie is a great encouragement to keep fighting for the life of the unborn.
2. EYES TO CONTEMPLATE THE BEAUTY OF GOD’S CREATION. When was the last time you thanked God for the gift of your eyes, the wonderful gift of sight, so as to contemplate the beauty of His creation? Imagine that you are a blind person. If you are willing, spend one day with your eyes blind-folded, such that you can see nothing – no person, nor any gift of nature. Undoubtedly, the following day when you wake up and look out at the sun rising, painting the sky with its majestic beauty, you will appreciate the gift of your sight all the more fully.
3. SUPERNATURAL LIFE. Probably most of the readers of this essay have received the extraordinary, unmerited, and gratuitous gift of the Sacrament of Baptism that entails many blessings. Baptism transforms us into sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters to Jesus our older Brother, intimate Friends with the Holy Spirit, and living Tabernacles of the Blessed Trinity. For this intimate relationship that starts with the Sacrament of Baptism, and the many other spiritual gifts we receive, we lift up our hearts in humble gratitude. Let us strive to live out our Baptismal commitment!
4. FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS. None of us can say with absolute sincerity that we have the best of parents, relatives, or friends; nor can we honestly affirm that we have been the best of any of the above. Nonetheless, we should spend time thanking God abundantly for the many persons that He has so generously placed on our path as a bridge to God Himself. If you like the image, let us not be remiss in thanking God for having placed, so to speak, Good Samaritans on the highway of our life leading us to our eternal home – heaven! May our hearts overflow in gratitude for the good people that God has put in our path!
5. HEALTH. Normally as the years whirl by, our health declines. As one of my dear relatives used to say with a smirk on his face: “You arrive at a certain age when your body starts to fall apart a piece at a time.” Still, we should thank God for the years of health He has given us, the years of health we have enjoyed and possibly still enjoy. As the poet expressed so succinctly: “I complained because I had no shoes, until I met someone who had no feet.” In other words, every day we bump into people who have less than us in so many respects, not the least of these being health. Let us thank God for what we have now!
6. THE MOST HOLY EUCHARIST. Never will we be able to thank the Lord Jesus enough for having instituted the most sublime Gift of the most Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper, which was actually the First Mass. The simple fact that the Church allows all those who have made their First Communion and are in the state of sanctifying grace to receive Holy Communion on a daily basis is glorious! In the Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul, Saint Faustina states that the angels have a holy envy of us, because they cannot receive the sublime Gift of Holy Communion, but we can! The word Eucharist means Thanksgiving! “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His mercy endures forever.” (Ps 136:1)
7. HEAVEN AWAITS US. Of enormous importance is the firm faith and belief that our life on earth is ephemeral; it is very short. As the Psalmist reminds us: “We are like the flower of the field that rises in the morning and withers and dies as the sun goes down.” (Ps 90:6) But if we persevere in our love for God until the end, then heaven awaits us! None of us can imagine the greatness of heaven! Saint Paul expresses this clearly: “Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it entered into the mind of man the wonderful things that God has prepared for those who love Him.” (1 Cor 2:9) Life can be tough, but our joy and happiness in heaven is right around the corner, and it is eternal!
8. HIS INFINITE MERCY. As a result of Original Sin, we are all weak and prone to fall into sin. The Bible states this clearly: “The just man falls seven times a day.” (Prov. 24:16) This should never be a reason to give in to sadness, much less despair. As so beautifully exemplified in the greatest story ever told by the greatest storyteller, Jesus the Lord, in the Parable of the Prodigal Son or Merciful Father, God’s loving arms and merciful Heart are always open ready to receive us. We just have to say “I’m sorry” and express our sorrow in the Sacrament of Confession. And as the Prophet Isaiah expresses in these most consoling words: “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” (Is 1:18)
9. FRIENDS ALWAYS READY TO LEND A HAND. We are not living as orphans, as abandoned children, nor are we bereft of help in time of need. Not only is God our Heavenly Father, and Jesus our Older Brother, but we also have a cloud of witnesses in Heaven who are praying for us, encouraging us, and cheering us on to victory. Of course these are the angels and the saints. Indeed, they are God’s close friends, but they are our friends also! In any time, place, or circumstance in which we find ourselves, we can call out to these good and faithful friends—the angels and saints—and they will run to our rescue and help us in countless ways. To be Catholic is to live in a family. The Communion of Saints is part of our family fabric and structure!!!
10. MARY OUR MOTHER: OUR LIFE, OUR SWEETNESS, AND OUR HOPE. Our attitude of gratitude would be incomplete if we did not thank God for having given us a heavenly Mother, Mary most holy. Mary is the Mother of God, she is the Mother of the Church, but also, Mary is the Mother of each and every one of us. She is my Mother and your Mother. She is also, as we pray in the Hail Holy Queen, “Our life, our sweetness, and our hope.”
Therefore, as we come to the closure of our sharing on cultivating an Attitude of Gratitude, let us beg for the grace to imitate the one leper who ran back to Jesus, prostrated himself before Jesus who healed him, and rendered Jesus abundant thanks! Lord Jesus, thank you, thank you, thank you!“Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His mercy endures forever.” (Ps 136:1)
