Gospel of the Day

From the Gospel according to Luke 17:11-19

As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem,
he traveled through Samaria and Galilee.
As he was entering a village, ten lepers met him.
They stood at a distance from him and raised their voice, saying,
“Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!”
And when he saw them, he said,
“Go show yourselves to the priests.”
As they were going they were cleansed.
And 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.
He was a Samaritan.
Jesus said in reply,
“Ten were cleansed, were they not?
Where are the other nine?
Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?”
Then he said to him, “Stand up and go;
your faith has saved you.”

The Gospel of the Lord

Let Us Trust in Christ

“Rise up; your faith has saved you.”

What did that Samaritan do for Jesus to say this to him? The obvious thing is that he returned, praising God and giving thanks.
But what about the less obvious part — what’s left unspoken? When the lepers called out to Jesus to have mercy on them, and He told them to go and show themselves to the priests, what might most of them have thought?
“Really? That’s not what we need — we want to be healed! And how can we go to the priests while we’re still lepers?”

Perhaps that Samaritan, however, trusted Jesus from the very first moment. It wasn’t his plan, nor what he expected Jesus to do — but since it was what Jesus had asked, he obeyed. He trusted completely, even without understanding. And that faith saved him.

Lord, I want to be happy in my marriage. I used to think that for that to happen, my spouse had to change. But I know You’re telling me: give yourself unconditionally, welcome your spouse as they are. Love them where it’s hardest. Learn to love.
Lord, I trust in You — I’m going for it!

Brought Down to Married Life

Andrew: Martha, you can’t keep having those outbursts with me.
Martha: Then pull yourself together! Look at everything I do, and the one thing I ask from you — you forget it. (She storms off, slamming the door.)

(After praying about what happened…)

Andrew: Martha, forgive me. I really am trying, but it’s hard. I know that being so wrapped up in my own things is selfish. The Lord keeps showing me that I need to put my own concerns second and truly focus on you.
Martha: And forgive me too. I fall into the temptation of only seeing what I do, of thinking badly of you. The Lord is teaching me that I must give of myself without measuring, that you have so many gifts, and that focusing on what I think you don’t do is not His will.
Andrew: Thank you so much, Martha. It’s amazing how Jesus keeps changing our hearts and the way we see each other. At first I thought we weren’t improving at all, but now I can see how this path of prayer, sacraments, and sacrifices is transforming us. I’ve still got a lot to work on, but I know that if we persevere, the Lord will do the rest.
Martha: How great is the Lord! How He draws us out of our selfishness — if only we let Him, if we truly trust in Him.

Mother,

Thank You so much for showing us the way. Help us to persevere, and to rise again each time we fall.
Blessed be the Lord!