GRATITUDE! ~ CookingFood.Org

“HONEY FROM THE ROCK”

Daily Reflections

Wednesday, 15^thNovember 2017.

Thirty Second Week in Ordinary Time

Wis 6: 1-11;

Ps 82: 3-4, 6-7 (R) 8;

Lk 17: 11-19.

GRATITUDE!

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough and more, it turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order and confusion into clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.”

Given the complexity of our times; we take many things for granted. Health and happiness is what we all seek throughout our lives. However, in our attempt to reach our goals in this bizarre world we lose our basic human dignity of being the children of God. The children must constantly return to their Father with grateful heart.

One of the first things we are taught is to say ‘Thank you’. And certainly we all know that we appreciate being thanked by people. Yet, when it comes to giving thanks to our heavenly father, we so often miss the mark. All the ten lepers were healed but only one returned and he was a Samaritan. Note that there are two things this Samaritan did once he was healed. First, he “returned, glorifying God in a loud voice.” This is a significant description of what happened. He did not just return to say thank you, rather, his gratitude was expressed in a very passionate way. Second, this man “fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked Him.” Again, this is no small act on the part of this Samaritan. The act of falling at Jesus’ feet is another sign of his intense gratitude. It’s not only that he was excited, he was also deeply humbled by this healing. It shows that this leper humbly recognized his unworthiness before God for this act of healing. It’s a beautiful gesture which acknowledges that gratitude is not enough. Instead, profound gratitude is necessary. Profound and humble gratitude must always be our response to the goodness of God.

Reflect, today, upon your approach to the goodness of God. How deep is your gratitude toward God? Are you fully aware of all that God does for you every day? If not, seek to imitate this leper and you will discover the same joy that he discovered.

Prayer: Lord, I pray that I may daily turn to You in deep and total gratitude. May I see all that You do for me every day and may I respond with wholehearted thanksgiving. Jesus, I trust in You. Amen.