Gratitude

Invite others to pray with you this Lent. Share the Rosary and win a pilgrimage with School of Faith!

One

Ten Lepers

It’s a remarkable thing about Jesus, He practically never tells us that we need to be grateful. St. Paul tells us over and over again that we should be constantly giving thanks to God, but maybe because Jesus was God He thought it would be bad form if He were always reminding us to thank Him.

But there is one time when Jesus shows his disappointment at humanity’s shocking ingratitude. That’s when he heals ten men from leprosy, and only one out of ten comes back to thank Him. Jesus says, “Were not ten healed? Where are the other nine?”

That’s probably a fair proportion of our ingratitude. It’s probably a pretty small percentage of people who remember to be grateful at all, and even when it comes to us Christians who are trying to be faithful, we probably only remember to thank God a fraction of the time we should.

Why? Why did those other nine lepers forget to be grateful? Why do we so often, so inexcusably, forget to be grateful to the Lord who has done so much for us? 

Two

Stuff They Still Had to Get Done

Those other nine lepers were probably preoccupied with the things they needed to get done. After all, they’d been as good as dead, outcasts from society, just waiting for their bodies to disintegrate, and then suddenly, they were back. They were healed. 

But think of all they had to do! They had to get legal certification that they were well. Maybe one had to see about restarting the business he had left, or maybe one wanted to make sure his wife hadn’t gone and married anyone else. One was probably wondering if they’d burned down his old house, and if so, where was he going to sleep that night? 

They had to rebuild their lives. Start again. They must have been excited, but also overwhelmed. They had so much to do.

And they forgot that if Christ hadn’t healed them, they wouldn’t have had a life at all. That Jesus was the one who had made it all possible, had given them their lives back. And they didn’t even bother to thank Him.

Three

Stuff We Still Have to Do

We have to get a lot done, just on a natural level. We have to get a lot done practically, keep the bills paid, get food on the table, wash and clean ourselves and our houses, fulfill our family obligations. But if God hadn’t created us, we wouldn’t have a life at all. And it’s good to be alive! Life is about more than chores and to-do lists, and you only remember that, really, when you stop to thank God for the gift of existence.

We also have a lot to get done spiritually speaking. We have a lot of vice to conquer, a lot of sins to overcome. We have a lot of prayer and penance to do, we have to learn to be more courageous about spreading our faith and preparing ourselves for Heaven. But if Christ hadn’t redeemed us, and if the Spirit hadn’t given us the gift of faith, then we’d still be dead in our sins.

We’d be lost, living an aimless and largely self-destructive life, with no direction for how to live or what purpose to strive for. But we’ve met Christ, and He’s healed us.  He’s given us our lives back. And we should tell Him that we’re very grateful, and we’re very happy to be alive in Him.

Four

Where Would We Be without Christ’s Generosity?

Those other nine lepers who had been healed, they were probably all thinking about their next goal and the goal after that. They were probably all suddenly aware of how much needed to happen before they had the kind of stability they wanted. But what they forgot was where they would have been if they had not met Christ.

So stop and think, where would you be if you had not met Christ? If you did not have the gift of the faith? I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty sure I’d be dead in a ditch somewhere. 

We can complain about how sinful we are, how far from saintliness we are and yes, we still have a long way to go, and we have a lot of work that we need to put in before we’re ready to see God face-to-face. But look what Jesus has done for us already! Look at how much good He’s already done in our lives, how much more good He’s done for us and even through us than we had any right to expect.

And let’s run back to Him, and throw ourselves at His feet, and say, “Thank you so much. You’ve done so much for me. So much more than I deserve. You’re too generous, and I can’t thank you enough.”

He gets so much ingratitude from so many people. Let’s at least remember to say thank you.

Five

What God has Done is More Important than Whatever We have to Get Done

Here’s a final point to remember. Those other nine healed lepers were so focused on what they needed to do, that they let themselves forget what Jesus had already done. But of course, healing them from leprosy was the big thing, the miraculous, astounding thing that needed to happen. All the other logistical, practical stuff was just details. 

So too, Christ dying on the Cross, atoning for our sins, and then granting us entrance to His Church and a share in divine life through Baptism, that’s the big thing. That’s the stupendous thing, the super-miraculous thing. 

Yes, we need to keep working at virtue and holiness, but that’s just following through on the ultimate good that God has already accomplished. So when you’re stressed, when you lose focus, when you get anxious about your to-do list, whether it’s you’re practical to-do list or your spiritual to-do list, remember this: What God has already done is infinitely more important than anything you still need to get done.  

So think of that truth, and be at peace. Think of that truth, and joyfully thank God.