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Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times at the word of Elisha, the man of God.” … “‘Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? … Stand up and go; your Faith has saved you.'” … “The Lord has revealed to the nations His Saving Power” … “I bear with everything for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they too may obtain the Salvation that is in Christ Jesus, together with Eternal Glory”
”MASS READINGS 10.9.16 – FIRST READING: 2 Kings 5:14-17 – PSALM 98:1, 2-3, 3-4 – PSALM 98:1, 2-3, 3-4 – GOSPEL: Luke 17:11-19 – FIND A MASS: MassTimes.org – FIND A MASS: TheCatholicDirectory.com
SUNDAY TV MASS: Basilica of the Immaculate Conception
SUNDAY TV MASS: Heart of the Nation (Wisconsin)
LINKS & RESOURCES
- Gospel Commentary on the Ten Lepers, by Saint Bruno of Segni (c.1045-1123), Bishop – DailyGospel.org
- How to Give God Perfect Thanks: A Homily for the 28th Sunday of the Year – Msgr. Charles Pope, Archdiocese of Washington 10.8.16
- VIDEO: Sunday Mass — Washington, D.C.
- VIDEO: Sunday Mass – Wisconsin
FIRST READING
FIRST READING: 2 Kings 5:14-17
Following instructions by Elisha the Prophet, a Syrian leper named Naaman is cured of his leprosy after plunging into the Jordan River seven times. He returns to give thanks, Confess that God is the One True God, and pledge to continue to worship and praise God.
His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child …
Naaman returned … before Elisha and said,
‘Now I know that there is no God in all the earth,
except in Israel. …
… I will no longer offer holocaust or sacrifice
to any other god except to the LORD.’
With a foreigner being cured Miraculously, God illustrates how He loves all persons. Our identity and affiliations are important, yet even more important is what we do. Naaman seeks out Elisha, listens to Elisha and acts upon what Elisha tells him to do, acting on Faith. Naaman also demonstrates thankfulness to God, and illustrates the need to link thankfulness with praise and worship.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
The Lord has revealed to the nations His Saving Power.
SECOND READING
SECOND READINGS: 2 Timothy 2:8-13
Saint Paul perseveres in the face of terrific earthly trials, which are superseded by the Gospel and Eternal Salvation with Jesus Christ.
Remember Jesus Christ, Raised from the dead, a descendant of David:
such is my gospel, for which I am suffering,
even to the point of chains ….
But the Word of God is not chained.
Therefore, I bear with everything for the sake of those who are chosen,
so that they too may obtain the Salvation that is in Christ Jesus,
together with Eternal Glory.
Christ is steadfast. If we deny Christ, He will indeed deny us for our denial, yet He will remain Faithful.
But if we deny Him
He will deny us.
If we are unfaithful
he remains Faithful,
for He cannot deny Himself.
GOSPEL
Traveling in Samaria and Galilee, Jesus heals ten lepers when they ask for His Mercy. Yet only one, a Samaritan, comes back to give thanks and praise.
. . . one of them, realizing he had been healed,
returned, glorifying God in a loud voice;
and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.
… a Samaritan.
Jesus said …
‘Ten were cleansed, were they not?
Where are the other nine?
… Stand up and go;
your Faith has saved you.’
Note that it is a Samaritan, considered a foreigner, from a people who were not fully steeped in the religiosity to which the Jews aspired, who is the one to come back, humble himself and give thanks. As with Naaman, and as with the Samaritan from the parable of the Good Samaritan, it is the Samaritan who does the right thing. All are invited to conversion and Eternal Life.
Yet we also see the need for continuity and consistency. It is important to come to God and ask for God’s Mercy, as the ten do here. It also is important to follow through, and do what God asks, which the ten do here, when the obey Jesus’ Command that they go present themselves to the Jewish priest.
Yet, after all of them are “out of the woods” being healed of the leprosy, it is just one who follows through with thanks and by acting to humble himself before Christ. It is not enough to persevere in the face of hardship, or persevere in turning to God in time of difficulty. We also must persevere during the times when things get better, especially if they get better through the Grace and Kindness and Mercy of God.
Furthermore, being freed of leprosy is not enough for these ten persons. Being freed of leprosy is infinitely less significant than being freed from sin and evil and attaining Eternal Life. The Miraculous Cure by Christ should inspire them to joyfully traveling along their Path of Discipleship, to say yes to God’s Invitation to Eternal Life.
Recalling the parable of the seed and the sower, we do not want to have fleeting encounters with God and shallow roots that wither. We want to continue to grow as the person God Created us to Be, which includes growing in our relationship with God and Neighbor, and Bearing Fruit for the Kingdom of God.
There also is a basic issue of accuracy and perspective. Giving thanks and praise to God, and persevering when times seem better in our earthly perspective, is also tied in with simply having a clearer view of the Reality that God Created us, and that God Blesses us in countless ways. God is the Source of all reality, the Source of our Existence, the Source of True Life, the Source of all Good, and He Blesses us continually while Inviting us to even greater Blessings.
As examples of concrete action, we see the need to give thanks to God, and we encounter the example of someone combing thankfulness with praise and displays of humility, in particular humbling oneself before the Glory of God. In addition to the grateful person’s act being an act of humility, perhaps we can note that it specifically is an act of humility before Christ combined with an act of Giving Glory to God, by definition Confessing that Christ is Lord.
Some practical lessons and steps might include:
- remembering to give thanks to God regularly, including for specific Blessings
- combining the giving of thanks with the giving of praise to God’s Glory and Loving Mercy
- remembering that we are not alone, that God is with us, and to ask for God’s Help and Mercy;
- remembering to confess that God is God; by acknowledging His Power to give Divine Help, and by acknowledging when He does Help, that it is as God that He Helps us
- let us recall that the Holy Name of Jesus, in its linguistic roots, means “God Helps” or “God Saves”
[Scripture passages excerpted or adapted from the NABRE, available online from the USCCB, which provides the following rights statement:
Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.]
