The Gospel of the Thursday of the 33rd week in Ordinary Time is taken from St. Luke, 17th verse as Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem, he traveled through Samaria and Galilee. As he was entering a village, 10 persons with leprosy met him. They stood at a distance from him and raised their voices, saying, jesus, master, have pity on us. 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, 10 were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other 9? 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 meaning of the word Eucharist is thanksgiving. And when one understands the message that Jesus is proclaiming, it is impossible to understand it without your heart being filled with gratitude and thanks for such a gift. And the gift is clearly a way of being in the world where you’re no longer counting on rituals and religions.

Not that they’re not valuable, they are. But the most amazing thing, the most thing we should be thankful for the most, is the intimacy with which God is willing to enter into our life. When we cry out for him, he is there not because we deserve it, not because we followed all the rules and regulations. No, it’s simply because we’ve asked, believed. And the natural response to being gifted, when you don’t earn it or don’t have to do something to get it, is so sweet and so wonderful. Closing Prayer Father, as a family, as a community, we need to see and understand who you are and what you have won for us.

Bless us with gratitude. Focus not on the way things are, but on the way things are going to be. Because your promise is always there and it is real. There will be, and we will attain the kingdom of God. And we ask this in Jesus name, Amen.