The Catholic Calendar for Thursday, November 24, 2005
The Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Thanksgiving Day (USA)

Sirach 50: 22-24
Psalm 138: 1-5
1 Corinthians 1: 3-9
Luke 17: 11-19

A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:

"Stand up and go; your faith has saved you." (Luke 17: 19)

Today as we gather around our tables to share and enjoy God's bounty, we give thanks for family, friends, home, health, food--all the provisions He has made for our survival, security and enjoyment. However, most prayers will center on God's tangible gifts; often we forget that those which we enjoy now are all passing away, that our thanks to God should also include the intangible and eternal aspect of our lives. Our gratitude should include those blessings open to us through our immortal souls, a God-given gift through which we can commune with Him, come to know, love and obey Him through prayer. In this more intimate relationship with Him we gain the hope of a glorious life in His Holy Presence.

Then today let us also thank our heavenly Father for His self-giving love made known to us through His only Son Jesus Christ. Jesus was sent to us to die on the cross to put our sin to death in His human flesh and so win for us forgiveness of our sins. Jesus' resurrection now calls us to a new life reborn in His Spirit to live in God's Law, in obedience to His truth and love. The word obedience does not place us in the position of "underlings;" it actually elevates us to participating in His divine life. We were created to be holy as He is holy.

That greed, hatred, crime and war persists is the consequence of our living perversely in our own wills rather than God's perfect will. Today's Gospel clearly demonstrates the world's blindness and ingratitude toward God. Christ healed ten lepers, but only one man had true faith in God and showed it by returning to give thanks and praise for His mercy. Christ healed the others physically, but it is by our recognizing and worshipping God through faith that we are eternally saved.

Glorious Lord, we thank you profoundly for having given us the ability to participate in Your goodness and love and being gifted with the promise of eternal life with You.
Amen.

- Marie Bocko, OCDS
(mlbocko at earthlink dot net)

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