The Thanks We Owe Him

Have you ever had the experience of working extra hard on something, and even of going well beyond the normal expectation, only to have someone ignore your extra effort? In his sacred humanity, Jesus was able to experience the emotion of feeling under-appreciated. Jesus is affected by the ingratitude and selfishness of those he served.

In our gospel reading this week from St. Luke (Lk 17:11-19), Jesus heals ten lepers. Lepers cannot directly approach Jesus because of their disease. The ten lepers urgently cry out for mercy. Healing all of them from a distance, Jesus tells them to go and show themselves to the priest as the law required.

Taking Jesus at this word the ten lepers are instantly cleansed of their illness. One of the lepers, realizing that he has been healed by God, “returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him” (Luke 17:15-16). Clearly, heartfelt, spontaneous praise is the appropriate response to receiving God’s amazing mercy.

While perhaps few of us receive a physical healing as spectacular as the one in this Gospel narrative, we do receive a special grace each time we receive the Real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. The substantial Presence of Jesus remains with us for a short time after we consume the Holy Eucharist. Because of this the Church has always seen the reception of the Eucharist as a special time of communion with our Lord and as the most opportune time to make an act of thanksgiving. If possible, the best way to do this is to stay behind to pray in thanksgiving after receiving.

A story is told from the life of St. Philip Neri, who noticed a man who, before the final blessing, habitually left the Church right after receiving Communion. To help him better understand the true significance of the Holy Eucharist, Fr. Neri instructed two acolytes to approach the altar and to take up one candle each and to follow this man in solemn procession as he left the Church and walked home through the streets of Rome.

When the man noticed the procession, he asked the two acolytes what they were doing, and they explained that Fr. Neri had told them to accompany him and make an act of thanksgiving as they did so. Less than amused, the man returned immediately to confront Fr. Neri. When asked why he did this, the saint replied,

“It is to pay proper respect to Our Lord, whom you carry away with you. Since you neglect to adore him, I send the servers in your place.”

In the presence of this great saint, the man immediately saw his fault and knelt devoutly before the altar and made a proper act of thanksgiving.

Do you desire a deeper and more intimate relationship with God? Would you like to see God soften your heart and help you to conquer your faults? Would you like to be a more loving person? The truth is that thanksgiving our door to God’s presence. As St Paul reminds us, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:17).

The secret to a more intimate relationship with God is to spend time with him in thanksgiving. Imagine what transformation would take place in our hearts if each one of us spent some extra time in thanksgiving this week.