Carry the gospel with you

Gospel reading of the day:

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.”

Reflection on the gospel reading: The gospel passage that the Church gives us to consider on this Thanksgiving Day is a narrative that we encountered recently. Even so, it bears repeating. It is common to think that God rewards the good and punishes the bad. It is easy to fall into this mindset because we have been raised with the idea that the just are sent to heaven for their deeds and the unjust, to hell for theirs. I think that it is important to remember that God is good every day to all of us, whether or not we are good or bad. As Jesus says elsewhere in the gospels, “God makes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust alike.” It is good to remember this on any day, and Thanksgiving Day provides a special opportunity to bring this to mind. God is good whether or not we are good, and God gives good things to us whether we have behaved well or badly. In the passage, ten lepers are made whole and entire, but only one understands his own obligation of gratitude to the God who has rained down a great gift. In many ways throughout the course of the year, God has made us complete and entire. At the root of this gospel passage today is a notion of gratitude, that we can cultivate in ourselves an attitude of thanksgiving for what God gives us and live through that experience to greet each gift that we receive with joy and humility. Today as every day, let us model ourselves on the pattern of that leper who stopped, reflected, understood what God has done, and fell on his knees to the Giver of All Gifts full of thanks.

Saint of the day: Luigi Beltrame Quattrocchi and Maria Corsini were married in Rome on November 25, 1884. Typically, we celebrate a memorial on the day of a saint’s death, but because this couple, who were beatified together, died on two different days, the church celebrates their memorial on the anniversary of the day of their marriage. Luigi Beltrame Quattrocchi was born in Catania, Italy in January1880, and Maria Corsini was born in Florence, Italy in June 1884. Together, they lived a life of holiness and devotion which they instilled in their marriage. As their children were born, Maria and Luigi shared with their family attendance each day at Mass, Holy Communion, the rosary, and consecration to Jesus’ Heart. They raised four children. Between 1924 and 1927, their firstborn son Phillipo began to pursue the priesthood, their son Cesare left home to become a trappist monk, and their daughter Stephania entered the Benedictine Cloister to become a nun. They lived the social gospel: during World War II, for example, they opened their homes to shelter refugees. Luigi suffered a heart attack and died on November 9, 1951. Maria died in her daughter Enirchetta’s arms at their house in the mountains in August 1965. They were beatified jointly in October 2001.

Spiritual reading: Praise ye and bless the Lord, and give thanks to Him and serve Him with great humility. (“The Canticle of the Sun” by St. Francis of Assisi)