Scripture:
Titus 3:1-7
Luke 17:11-19
Reflection:
It might have been the wondrous and joyful reality and gift of being healed, at last, from leprosy that distracted "the other nine" from returning to Jesus to thank him. The greatest gift we receive can be a source of weakness. Our meditation today has us focus on that which God has entrusted to each of us – our particular "gifts" and talents utilized in our marriages, our families (extended), our religious communities and the places where we hold responsibilities. God’s finest gifts – life, strength, the ability to think imaginatively and to act creatively – easily become the means by which we not only forget God but also turn against God an against our neighbors and even our own family. At the offertory of the Mass I remind people that in the bread and wine we place all that we are. And just as Jesus surrenders Himself to us, I surrender in selflessness those gifts for the benefit of others and not myself. I am happy and proud of the gifts entrusted to me. But I keep in mind that "when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Saviour appeared, Christ Jesus saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit." (Titus 3:6)
Fr. Alex Steinmiller, C.P. is president of Holy Family Cristo Rey Catholic High School, Birmingham, Alabama.