Message of 11-15-2023

Published: Wed, 11/15/23

A Daily Spiritual Seed
Wednesday: November 15, 2023

Message of the Day

Nothing disciplines the inordinate desires of the ﬂesh like service, and nothing transforms the desires of the ﬂesh like serving in hiddenness. The ﬂesh whines against service but it screams against hidden service. It strains and pulls for honor and recognition.

—Richard Foster

(What hidden service will you do today?)

Readings of the Day

Wis 6:1-11; Ps 82:3-4, 6-7

Lk 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."

USCCB lectionary

Reflection on the Scripture

“Was there no one to return and give thanks to God except this foreigner?” —Luke 17:18

The Samaritan leper said “Thank You” to Jesus. In return, Jesus said more than “You’re welcome.” He said: “Your faith has been your salvation” (Lk 17:19). There is a thanksgiving which is much more than courtesy and kindness. Thanksgiving can be an act of faith by which we accept salvation. Thanksgiving can be a way by which we enter into God’s heavenly courts (Ps 100:4). Thanksgiving can be Eucharist — the eternal thanksgiving of the Son to the Father in the Spirit, as expressed by Jesus’ sacrifice of Himself on the cross.

Thanksgiving in this greatest sense of the word is supernatural. This thanks can be offered only by God’s grace. Those who are most thankful supernaturally are often the very poor, the disabled, and the rejected. These people are sometimes more thankful for a crust of bread than others would be for millions of dollars and countless pleasures. Those who give this supernatural thanksgiving are often the lowly, such as Samaritans, foreigners (Lk 17:16, 18), servants (Lk 17:9), and repentant sinners (Lk 7:42).

Ask for the grace of supernatural thanksgiving. It will change your life.

Prayer: Father, “I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with all my heart” (Ps 138:1).

Promise: “Desire therefore My words; long for them and you shall be instructed.” —Wis 6:11

Presentation Ministries

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Spiritual Reading

-Readings from Jesus Alive in Our Lives, by Philip St. Romain. Ave Maria Press, 1985. Contemplative Ministries, Inc. 2011.

Part Two, Encountering the Risen Christ

Chapter 7: The Cosmic Christ, part I

- Selected quotes

Beyond this consideration of Christ in nature, his cosmic presence extends all throughout the non-Christian realm of human culture as well, including secular culture, governments, and even other world religions. Sometimes the presence of Christ is mediated in places most unexpected—like in a public school where the faculty emphasizes care and respect for the students. It might also communicate through a self-help book written by an atheist, who nonetheless has something important to say about improving your relationships with others. Or maybe a Hindu or Buddhist teacher radiates a love that feels familiar. The possibilities here are endless, for “whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God, the Creator of all light” (James 1:17). Also, we recall the simple truth that “God is love and anyone who lives in love lives in God, and God in him.” (1 Jn. 4:16). Wherever we find love manifesting, we can be sure that God is involved.
How would one know that it is Christ manifesting through nature, society and other means, and not just your own natural, sentimental responses? Olivier Clement puts it very well:

The book of the cosmos (the world, St. Augustine says, is a “first Bible”) and that of the Scriptures match each other, since they have the same author. Both of them find their full revelation in Christ, who, after writing them, made them his body and his face . . . The Word both hides and reveals himself in visible forms as much as in the words of Scripture. (The Roots of Christian Mysticism)

For those who have become attuned to the voice of the Shepherd leading us through the scriptures, the Church and the Sacraments, his voice will be heard whispering to us in nature and human culture as well. You know the “feel” of his presence, the peace and joy he shares, and the love for all beings that he awakens in your heart.

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