" .....and throwing himself on his face before Jesus he gave him thanks.  "  

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊ 

2 Kings 5:14-17

 So Naaman went down to the Jordan

Where he washed himself seven times as Elisha had ordered. His skin became soft like that of a child and he was cleansed.

Then Naaman returned to the man of God with all his men. He entered and said to him, “Now I know that there is no other God anywhere in the world but in Israel. I ask you to accept these gifts from your servant.”

 But Elisha answered, “I swear by Yahweh whom I serve, I will accept no­thing.” And however much Naaman insisted, Elisha would not accept his gifts.

So Naaman told him, “Since you refuse, let me get some sacks of soil from your land – the amount that two mules can carry. I shall use it to build an altar to Yahweh, for I shall not offer sacrifices to any other god but him.

 

Ps 98:1, 2-3, 3-4

The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.

 

＊＊＊ 2nd Reading ＊＊＊

2 Timothy 2:8-13

Remember Christ Jesus, risen from the dead, Jesus, son of David, as preached in my Gospel.   For this Gospel I labor and even wear chains like an evildoer, but the word of God is not chained.  And so I bear everything for the sake of the chosen peo­ple, that they, too, may obtain the sal­va­tion given to us in Christ Jesus and share eternal glory.  This statement is true:

If we have died with him, we shall also live with him;

 If we endure with him, we shall reign with him;

If we deny him, he will also deny us;

If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful for he cannot deny himself.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊ 

Luke 17:11-19

 On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus was passing along the border between Samaria and Galilee, and   as he entered a village, ten lepers came to meet him.  Keeping their distance, they called to him, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”  

Then Jesus said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” Now, as they went their way, they found they were cured.   One of them, as soon as he saw he was cleansed, turned back praising God in a loud voice, and   throwing himself on his face before Jesus, he gave him thanks. This man was a Samaritan.

Then Jesus said, “Were not all ten healed? Where are the other nine?  Was no one found to return and give praise to God but this alien?”  And Jesus said to him, “Stand up and go your way; your faith has saved you.”

 

Gospel Reflection：

Read: Filled with gratitude for the healing, allegiance to Yahweh, Paul vouches for the eternal fidelity of God. of the ten leprosy patients healed, only, a Samaritan returns to thank Jesus.

Reflect: “If the only prayer you ever make in your life is ‘thank you, Lord’, that is enough!” (Julian of Norwich). Behavioral scientists are now discovering the benefits of many virtues that have been traditionally part of Christian Praxis.

One such virtue is gratitude. In the famous “Nun Study”, David Snowdon and team of the University of Kentucky analyzed one-page autobiographical essays written by 180 nuns of the American School Sisters of Notre Dame before their final profession (average age 22).

They found that 70 nuns whose writings displayed positive emotions, with gratitude being one of them, lived beyond age 90-which was 2.5 to 3 times more than the number of nuns whose writings were low on positivity.

Further, with 85% accuracy, the researchers predicted the possibility of Alzheimer’s disease: those happy, grateful nuns had a significantly lower probability of developing the disease. Gratitude and its derivatives are beneficial not only for the soul, but for the body and the mind as well.

Pray: Make a prayer of thanksgiving to God.

Act: Today, thank your parents/siblings for the good things they have done for you.