Today’s Gospel is all about giving thanks. Appropriately, we will also hear this same Gospel reading on Thanksgiving day. Ten lepers were cleansed that day by Jesus, but only one of them gave glory to God and expressed his thanks and appreciation to Jesus, falling at his feet. In our modern society today, it seems that gratitude and thanksgiving are a lost art. It seems like a sense of entitlement is more common than giving thanks. Elie Wiesel, the famous author, the recipient of the Nobel peace prize, and a survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp once said: "When a person doesn't have gratitude, something is missing in his or her humanity." A study published by Harvard Medical School states that gratitude and giving thanks are strongly associated with greater happiness in our lives. Gratitude helps us feel more positive emotions, benefit from good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong human relationships. We would all probably agree that It is wonderful and joyful to see people who have a genuine sense of thankfulness and gratitude in their lives. This is a genuine fruit of being a follower of Christ, of being able to feel this thankfulness at the foundation of our very being. Especially as we approach the national holiday of Thanksgiving next week, may we all feel a sense of thanksgiving in our lives and express this joyful thankfulness in the way we live out our faith.
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