As we celebrate our national day of
Thanksgiving as a nation, it’s wonderful that all of you having chosen to come
to mass today as part of giving thanks. Actually, the word Eucharist that we
use to name our celebration of the mass comes from the Greek word for
thanksgiving, so giving thanks is an integral part of our Catholic faith. We give
thanks for the many gifts and blessings that God has giving to us: as a Church,
as a nation, as families and as individuals.
And the gifts and blessings are indeed many.
In the Gospel today, we hear about a leper
who returns to give thanks to Jesus for the healing he’s received in his life,
but, at the same time, we hear about other lepers who were healed but who do
not express thankfulness or gratitude. The
Samaritan leper who returns to Jesus to give thanks is told by him – “Your
faith has saved you - stand up and
go.” We can only imagine the many more
blessings this leper received due to willingness to come back to out of humble
thanksgiving. So often in our modern
society, instead of having an attitude of thanksgiving and appreciation, we
instead feel a sense of satisfaction and entitlement. We may often feel that we work hard for what
we have, and most of us do, and that we ourselves have earned the gifts and
blessings we have in our lives. But the blessings and graces we receive from
God are freely given gifts - we can never earn or merit them through our own
efforts.
I remember coming back from spending 3
year as a missionary in the jungles of Ecuador, where there was such oppressive
poverty, where many families often went hungry and struggled to make it from
one day to next. When I returned to the United States to spend time with my
family and friends in Southern California after finishing my term as a
missionary, it struck me that even though many of us in United States have so
much material wealth and so many opportunities in our lives, especially
compared to the conditions most people face in the world, many of us aren’t
very grateful. I learned from my
missionary experience in South America, promising to give more thanks for the
blessings both big and small I have in my life.
Our Catholic faith constantly calls us to
return to the Lord again and again just like that one Samaritan leper returned
to give thanks. As we return to glorify God for the blessings he has given to
us in our lives, we will discover all the more the blessings we do have, we
will be edified and encouraged as we journey in faith. As we gather for our Thanksgiving meal today,
as we spend time with family and friends, let us give thanks to the Lord for
his blessings, for his love and mercy that endure for ever and ever.
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