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Thoughtful Thankfulness

28^th Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year C

This Sunday’s Gospel shows us that God intervenes in our lives, but He does not intervene according to our plans. No miracle is exactly like another; each miracle is unique. While we are attached to certain ways of thinking and doing things, and while we have certain ideas how things should be done, God often thinks and acts differently. And God has the right to surprise us. He is not obliged to act or perform miracles according to the way we think they should take place. He has the right to demand that our faith in His Love be living, vibrant and spontaneous—as was the faith of the leper who returned to Jesus to thank Him.

Someone once said that each breath is a miracle of God’s grace. But, as today’s Gospel shows us, so often we take God’s gifts for granted, and we are not grateful for the many ways in which He provides and cares for us. So often we forget to thank the Lord for the abundant miracles that He performs in our lives.

During the Mass, particularly after you receive Jesus in the Eucharist,
I would like to invite you to make a real effort to express to Him
your gratitude for all that He has given to and done for you.

Miracles happen all around us, but they often remain hidden because we see the world through the eyes of our own indifference, our own routine, and not the eyes of faith. At every Mass we experience the greatest miracle: the opportunity to be united with Jesus Himself in the Eucharist—the very same Jesus who heals and brings life to the broken.

Readings for the twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Lectionary 144.