Reflection for Wednesday November 11 Memorial of Saint Martin of Tours, Bishop: Luke 17:11-19

Gospel: Luke 17:11-19

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 voices, 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."

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Reflection:

Do we always thank the Lord for the countless blessings He showers upon us?

After Jesus healed the ten lepers, only one returned to thank Him—a Samaritan, someone who was not a member of the Jewish faith. That is why Jesus asked, “Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine?” (Luke 17:17). Indeed, what happened to the other nine, who were also members of the Jewish faith?

Jesus must have been pleased that one of them returned to express his gratitude. Perhaps He was expecting all ten to come back and thank Him for the wonderful healing they had received. But only one returned. The other nine were nowhere to be found. They were eager to receive favors from Jesus, but once they received what they wanted, they simply disappeared.

Isn't this sometimes true of us as well? We earnestly pray when we need something from the Lord. We plead with Him, ask for His help, and promise to be faithful to Him. Yet, when our prayers are answered and we receive what we have been asking for, we sometimes forget Jesus. We become so occupied with our blessings that we forget the One who gave them to us.

Sadly, this attitude is not limited to our relationship with Jesus. Even when our family members, friends, and people we hardly know do something good for us, we sometimes forget to acknowledge their kindness. We receive their goodness but occasionally fail to express our gratitude. This reveals how forgetful and ungrateful we can sometimes be.

But shouldn't our hearts always be filled with gratitude? Every blessing we receive is an opportunity to recognize God's goodness and love in our lives. Even when life becomes difficult, we still have countless reasons to thank Him. We may not always receive everything we ask for, but we can always find something to be grateful for.

Let us reflect on our relationship with Jesus. Have we thanked Him for the many blessings He continues to give us? For example, every morning, we receive the precious blessing of another day of life. We open our eyes, breathe, and are given another opportunity to love, serve, forgive, and become better persons. Do we always thank the Lord for this wonderful gift? Is expressing our gratitude to Him the first thing we do when we wake up each morning?

Let us always be grateful to Jesus for our lives, our health, our families, and all the blessings we receive. We do not thank the Lord because He needs our gratitude; rather, we thank Him because we recognize and deeply appreciate His goodness and love toward us. Our gratitude is a humble acknowledgment that everything we have is a gift from Him.

Let us not be like the nine who received healing but failed to return and give thanks. Instead, let us be like the one Samaritan who remembered Jesus, returned to Him, and expressed his gratitude. May we never become so preoccupied with receiving blessings that we forget the One who blesses us.

When we wake up tomorrow morning, will we immediately ask Jesus for something again, or will we first fall on our knees, thank Him for the gift of another day, and show Him through our words and actions how grateful we are for His endless goodness?—Marino J. Dasmarinas