Today at Lauds - Just One?

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.”
Luke 17:11-19

Dear Children,

Today we have heard an account from the Gospel of St. Luke of ten very sick people being healed by Jesus. Leprosy is a horrible disease that causes great pain and very humiliating physical disfigurement. The wounds are so awful that people of old assumed you had done something very wrong to offend God, and so you were not allowed to live with the rest of your community or family but were exiled far away from others. In Jesus’ time if you had leprosy you would have to ring a little bell and shout “unclean” whenever a healthy person approached you. For those with the scourge of leprosy, it must have been a terrible life.

Now imagine the incredible joy of these ten men who were set free from this awful condition by Jesus. They were able to return to their families and friends; they were able to participate in dinners and celebrations; they no longer had ugly wounds, scars or pain.

But only ONE of the men returned to thank Jesus after their healing – only ONE was human enough to recognize the great gift that had been given to them by God and returned to Jesus to say thank you.

This morning we are reminded of the need to say thank you and so, boys and girls, I propose that we do three things.

Firstly, say thank you to your teachers and other staff members in our school community: to Mr. Casillas and Mr. Sparks who work so hard to keep our school clean and functioning; to Ms. Amber and Ms. Diane who prepare a wonderful lunch for us each day; to your very dedicated teachers who work so hard to prepare you to become faithful and hard-working citizens who will build a civilization of mercy and love.

Secondly, say thank you to your parents tonight. It is so easy for us to forget the many sacrifices they make on our behalf. We can devolve into our own little world where it is all about me, becoming entitled, sulky, selfish and thoughtless about the needs of others. Saying thank you will change our attitudes, make us more open hearted and wholesome.

Finally, like the solitary leper who returned to Jesus, let us say thank you to God for our many, many blessings. We do so in the great act of thanksgiving that is the celebration of the Mass, or the Holy Eucharist. In fact, the Greek word eukaristia means just that: thanksgiving. Whenever we celebrate the Eucharist, we are offering our thanks to God for the wonders of his creation, including each one of you in this Oratory this morning! And, we are giving thanks for his saving love, especially as it has been revealed to us in the suffering and death of his Son. When we actively participate in the Mass, we are like the ONE, solitary leper who returned to say thank you, while the other nine took God’s many blessings and gifts for granted.

Boys and Girls, three things: 1) express your gratitude to our teachers and other staff members; 2) say thank you to your parents tonight for the many ways they sacrifice to make your life happy and productive; and 3) actively participate in the celebration of the Mass where we join with Jesus as his body in offering our thanks and praise to the God loves and saves us.

25 NOVEMBER 2014
TUESDAY OF THE THIRTY-FOURTH WEEK
THE ORATORY OF ST. DANIEL