11/12/2014 – Wednesday of 32nd week in ordinary time – Luke 17:11-19–

      Today’s Gospel is the same Gospel that we will hear on Thanksgiving day, which makes a lot of sense because this Gospel reading is all about giving thanks. Jesus cleansed ten lepers that day, but only one of the lepers gave glory to God and expressed his thanks and appreciation, falling to his feet in gratitude.  I wonder if the other lepers were too focused on the new-found freedom and new-found opportunities that they did not think about going back.  In our modern society today, we often take things for granted and perhaps expect certain things in our lives with a sense of entitlement.  Meister Eckhart, a German Dominican priest from the 14^th century who was a great theologian and mystic said this: “If the only prayer you say in your life is thank you, then that would suffice.”  What great wisdom this is for us.  Giving thanks is a genuine fruit of being a follower of Christ, of being able to feel this gratitude and thankfulness as a foundational sense of our very being. 

     St. Josaphat is the saint we celebrate today.  Perhaps he is not very well-known to us.  Josaphat was a Basilian monk from the late 16th & early 17th centuries, who later was ordained a priest & became the Archbishop of Polotsk, a region in current day Belarus. Most of the monks in his area did not want to join in union with Rome, fearing interference in their liturgy & customs.  However, by catechetical instruction, synods, reform of the clergy, and his personal example, Josaphat was successful in winning the greater part of the Orthodox faithful in that area to union with Rome.  Due to fear of this union, Josaphat was struck down, shot, and his body was thrown into the river.  His remains were recovered and are now buried in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.  Josaphat was the first saint of the Eastern Church to be canonized by Rome. It is sometimes hard to give thanks in the difficult circumstances we face in our lives.  I think of the challenges and turmoil that Josaphat faced in his life, yet through his life and his actions, he served the Lord with joy, courage, and thanksgiving.  As we approach the national holiday of Thanksgiving later this month, may we feel a sense of thanksgiving in our lives and express this joyful thankfulness in the way we live out our faith.