The divine healer

Today's Gospel narrative is among the best known. It deals with the healing of the ten lepers and the return of only one of them to thank the Lord who had healed him. Among the many points that arise from this striking narrative, two deserve to be the object of our reflection today.

The first is about the miraculous healing itself. The healing of just one leper by Jesus is reported in all three Synoptics, whereas the healing of ten together is narrated only by Luke in today's Gospel.

Leprosy at the time of Jesus was considered a terrible and humiliating disease, much more so perhaps than today. Leprosy among the Jews was furthermore considered a consequence of sin, a punishment from God for one's sinful condition. A cure from leprosy, therefore, especially if taking place instantly, was naturally taken as a sign of God's forgiveness.

Reading through the Old Testament, in fact, we often come across passages where the state of serious sin is referred to as leprosy of the soul, cutting of the individual not only from God, but from the community too.

If leprosy as an illness has by now been brought under control, at least in developed countries, thanks to the great advances in the field of medicine, can we say that 'spiritual' leprosy is also becoming a thing of the past? It is not only individuals who are today gradually losing any sense of sin and are hardly aware of their state of spiritual leprosy, but society itself is seriously infected by this grave spiritual illness. If God is gradually being set aside from modern life, it is society itself that is bound to suffer the consequences.

The second reflection has to do with the duty of gratitude. As we read further in today's Gospel, of the ten lepers who had been miraculously cured by Jesus, only one, a Samaritan who was somehow a foreigner, felt he should return to Jesus to thank him for being freed from a terrible nuisance which had been forcing him to remain ostracised from society, and for now being able to lead a normal, private and social life.

"Were not there ten of you who had been healed? Where are then the other nine?", exclaimed Jesus. Not that Jesus was hurt by the ingratitude of the other nine; but he nevertheless wanted to remind us of our duty to be thankful, first to God who is the source of all goodness, and secondly to any of our neighbours who may have helped us in one way or the other.

Gratitude is often referred to as the 'forgotten virtue'. Each one of us knows that all too well from personal experience. How often we ourselves feel hurt by the lack of appreciation for a favour we may have rendered to others, sometimes even by going out of our way?

On the other hand, can we say that we have never failed to show gratitude to God for all his benefits? Have we always shown gratitude to those who have helped us in some way or other? A little examination of conscience would not be out of place.

Thomas à Kempis, author of The Imitation of Christ, a well known book on the spiritual life, has written the following recommendation: "Be thankful for the least gift, so that you will deserve to receive a greater one." This truth is behind the words which every priest pronounces on behalf of the faithful at the Preface of the Mass just before Consecration: "Father, it is our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere, to give you thanks through your beloved Son, Jesus Christ!"