Fr. John Eudes Bamberger, OCSO
32nd Tuesday in Ordinary Time
Epistle of St. Paul to Titus ; Luke 12:7-10
“We were once foolish, disobedient” St. Paul reminds us; however, he does not leave matters at that. He goes on to give the encouraging reminder that “the kindness and generous love of God our Savior appeared.” As a result we can accept his loving invitation to enter His presence. Paul states the situation in these terms: “so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life.” We need to keep in our conscious memory that our destiny in not limited by any of the manifold activities and encounters that we continue to meet with as long as we remain in this world of time. If Paul felt the need to remind Titus, his close friend and fellow worker for the kingdom, of this need for interiority, surely we must strive for this same interior awareness day by day.
The story of Jesus healing the ten lepers whom he encountered as he was on his way to Jerusalem knowing he was to die there is a moving one. It has added significance from the fact that it brings out the importance our Lord gave to our expressing gratitude to God for His blessings to us, especially for the healing of our sins. We do well to recall that the Eucharist we are celebrating here this morning is not only an offering for sins both of the living and the deceased. This offering is an act of sincere thanksgiving. In Greece where someone receives a favor from another or a gift the reply is “eucharisto sas” (I thank you). One hears this expression frequently in various places such as in restaurants in Athens. The Eucharist is an expression of thanksgiving.
May our offering of the Euharist so enter into our hearts and minds that we remain sensitive to the many favors we receive from others in the course of a day from those we have dealings with. In doing so we continue to offer the Eucharist we now celebrate to the glory of God and for the salvation of many.
Comments are closed.