Grateful

I am so grateful that God has called me to serve here in Angleton. I am grateful that God has called me to be His priest, for this vocation. I’m even grateful for the gift of celibacy. 

I am grateful for my family and my parents. I am grateful for this Texas “cold front”. I am grateful for my life, for my health, and I am especially grateful for Jesus’ Body and Blood, for his mercy and forgiveness. I am grateful for His life.

Jesus, thank you. 

Sometimes, I try to imagine who I would be if I never encountered Jesus, if I never took the leap of faith to follow him... and when I think of that I find myself filled with gratitude. I mean most of my childhood and teenage years was me just going along with the crowd. I just did what all my peers were doing. I imagine without Jesus, I would be, first of all, so unhappy and anxious, and, second of all, probably living in so much sin. I would have never been saved by Christ and never been healed by him.

Today, one of the primary things that we are doing here in this Eucharistic celebration is giving thanks and praise to God. Thanksgiving is not only something you do once a year in November, it should be something you do all the time! In fact, the word Eucharist comes from the Greek word that means “Thanksgiving”. 

Sometimes, perhaps you have these days, like me, when you just don’t the feel like going to Mass, or you feel like you’re going through the motion and checking off the boxes. Often times, I find that it’s because I have lost the virtue of Gratitude. Perhaps I’ve gotten so busy, or am so worried and preoccupied with so many things, or maybe I’ve become so selfish that I had forgotten to stop and give thanks to God! I imagine that was what happen to the other nine lepers who didn’t come back to Jesus to give thanks.

So let’s look at the Gospel today. Today, we find Jesus is continuing his journey towards Jerusalem. And what was the purpose of Jesus’ journey again? To offer his body and blood for us on the cross so that we may be saved. Did you know that in Greek, the word for “save” (Sozo) also is the word for “heal”. Jesus came to save us and to heal us. 

As he is walking, there is a group of lepers who “stood at a distance”. Because they were lepers, the Jewish law required that they stand outside the village and away the entrance. You can say in some sense, because of their condition, they are stuck standing at a distance. They could only watch from afar.

For us sometimes, this distance is because of our sinfulness, our uncleanness and thus our unworthiness. Perhaps, its because we prefer not to get to get too close, too involved. It’s sometimes easier to stand at a distance when it comes to Jesus, that way he won’t ask too much of me. There’s a striking quote from St. John Vianney that says, “there are some who seem to speak to God like this: ‘I will only say a couple of things to you, and then I will be rid of you.’” We like to come to Mass, say our prayers, receive the Eucharist and leave unbothered.

I mean that’s what I did. For many years of my life, I just went to Mass and went home, often never saying a word to another person, other than “peace be with you.”

This is the situation that the lepers found themselves in. Stuck, unable to move forward, unable to move closer. It wasn’t until they finally encountered Jesus and He tells them to Go, that they begin to move and are healed. 

But there is something important that happens in between their being stuck standing at a distance and when Jesus says, “Go show yourselves to the priest.”

Before that, scripture says, “They raised their voices...” They cried out. In order to get unstuck, we need to do something, we need to desire, and we need to cry out in faith. The ten lepers showed faith. Faith that Jesus could actually heal them. They even showed faith by obeying what Jesus asked them to do: “Go show yourselves to the priest.” Without knowing if they are healed, without knowing what would happen if they followed Jesus command, they got up and took the first steps of faith.

It is only while they were going, they were healed... sometimes we would like to be healed before we can take a step. Sometimes we would like to see the end result before we act. But sometimes we won’t see anything until we take the first steps of faith towards God.

So what happened next? After being cleansed along the way, one of the lepers, a Samaritan realizes that he has been cleansed and returns to Jesus glorifying God, falling at his feet and thanking him. The other nine kept going on their way.

So which one am I today? Am I the one who realizes what Jesus has done for me, that he has healed me, that he has saved me, or am I the other nine who goes on his way ungrateful for what Jesus has done for me. Or perhaps, Jesus has said to me, “Go show yourself to the priests” and I still don’t know if that will really help my situation. Will obeying his command heal me? Or perhaps I am still stuck outside the gate, perhaps I haven’t had the courage yet, to cry out to Jesus. To yell out in front of everyone, “Jesus, Master! Have pity on me!” Perhaps I’m afraid of what people will think of me, if I show such a big public act of faith in Jesus. 

This is the call for you today. If you feel stuck standing at a distance, courageously cry out to our Lord. And if Jesus telling you to do something, don’t worry about the why or how, just begin taking the first steps with faith. Then if you receive healing and grace from following His words, return to Christ (return to this altar) and glorify him in a loud voice and then fall at his feet and give thanks.

One very practical way of practicing gratitude is taking 5 minutes after receiving Jesus in the Eucharist to kneel and quietly giving thanks before going out to your car. Do we realize just what Christ is doing for us in the Eucharist?

Jesus Christ gives his Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity... He gives his whole entire self, and it is truly really Him present in the Eucharist. Christ, the bridegroom, just like in a wedding, looks on us, his bride, with love and says to his bride, “This is my body”... I give you my body. I give my whole life to you. And we respond, “I do.” “Amen” which is essentially saying “I do, I believe”. And then we receive Him into our bodies!

There’s a story that I love of St. Philip Neri, who when he noticed a man who left the church early after receiving communion, he sent two altar boys with candles to follow him out into the streets. When the man returned to the church and asked why he sent them, St. Philip Neri said, “We have to pay proper respect to Our Lord, Whom you are carrying away with you. Since you neglect to adore Him, I sent two acolytes to take your place.”

After you have received the Lord of the Universe into your body into your soul, take a few minutes to give thanks to God. It’s generally assumed that the Eucharist remains in your body about 15 minutes before it dissolves. There is still time even after the final blessing, to kneel and acknowledge the life of God dwelling inside of you!

Today, don’t be like the nine lepers who leave without giving thanks to Jesus for what he gives to you. Instead, be like the Samaritan man who returned filled with gratitude and knelt at the feet of Jesus and gave praise and thanks for the great gift he had received!