October 13 // 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading I: 2 Kings 5:14-17
Responsorial Psalm 98:1, 2-3, 3-4
Reading II: 2 Timothy 2:8-13
Gospel: Luke 17:11-19

The very word today comes from the Hebrew word todah, meaning thanksgiving. You would think we would thank God, conscientiously, all the time! Maybe we have not been healed of leprosy as were the ten in today’s Gospel but we sure have been healed in many ways.

We may well be in recovery from illness and injuries, despair and fear, torment and horror, losses and pain, confusion and frustrations…

And we realize it is not only us who need healing--all God’s creation needs healing! As the Amazon burns, our church Synod will listen to indigenous people and call forth ecological conversion, a profound respect for God’s creation as found in Pope Francis’ Laudato Si and Pope Benedict’s teaching as well. Our planet cries out for our protection. Also, there are few priests in the Amazon; most residents are only able to reach a priest once or twice a month.

Still there is no end to our gratitude for all kinds of healing, even as we beg God for different kinds of healings: that a grandson passes his test and a granddaughter finds a job that is meaningful, helps humanity, and pays a living wage. As we ask for those healings, we also plead with God to provide us with the discipline and know-how to change the course of all that causes illness and devastation.

And we can carry an attitude of gratitude, daily!

Deni Mack, D. Min.
Pastoral Associate