Memorial of Saint Martin of Tours, Bishop

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.”

When someone does us a kindness, we ought to thank them for all they have done for us. How much more should we be thanking God for sending His beloved Son to sacrifice himself for us? But how much time do we spend thanking God for all of the graces in our lives? Or have we come to expect God to heal us physically, spiritually, and emotionally? Perhaps this is why the other lepers did not return. They expected to be healed and so when it happened they did not give thanks to Jesus. There is a fine line between hoping for something and expecting it. As disciples of Christ, we should never demand things of God because we have no claim over Him. All our good deeds have their source, center, and summit in Him and when we allow God to work through us through acts of love and mercy, we are merely doing what we should. This is why it is so important to cultivate a spirit of thankfulness and willingness to receive nothing in return for the good we do.

Do we ask God to have pity on us? If He does help us in some manner, do we give Him thanks and glorify Him? Are we hopeful and humble servants of God, rather than expectant and prideful servants of self?

O Lord, may our faith and hope in you save us.

Amen.