Dear Sisters & Brothers in Christ,
There was once a time in my life, before I was a priest, when I found myself in a time of great trial. I was feeling overwhelmed and deeply troubled. I remember thinking: “God, why are you doing this to me?” (Although, at that stage in my life I rarely even thought of God; much less prayed to Him.) I had hit a bottom, of sorts, and thought God was punishing me. I was convinced I was experiencing the worst days of my life.
However, it would be months later, before I realized that it was not cruel testing, but painful preparation. Previously, I had been insistent on managing everything myself; trying to control all the outcomes. When the trials came and completely overwhelmed me, I had no choice but to turn it over to God. In that act of surrender, God blessed me in great abundance. God used that painful time to call me back into relationship with Him. At the time, what I thought was the worst day of my life, turned out to be one of the best days.
In the first reading today, Naaman, a powerful general, came down with leprosy and sought the help of Elisha, a prophet to Israel. Elisha told Naaman to dip himself in the Jordan river seven times and he would be healed. Naaman became angry because he expected a more elaborate remedy. He presumed to know how God should heal him. But at the prompting of his servant, Naaman reluctantly performed the simple gesture. And his leprosy was healed!
In the Gospel, ten lepers called out to Jesus for pity. He told them to go and show themselves to the priest. Only one recognized that he was healed and came back to thank Jesus.
Do you recognize how God is blessing and healing you? Sometimes His blessings might not look like blessings at first; sometimes they happen in such simple and everyday ways that we don’t even recognize His hand at work. Has God worked in dramatic or miraculous ways in your life – only to have you be oblivious to His blessing until months or years later?
If and when we recognize how God has healed or blessed us, the appropriate response is to imitate Naaman the Syrian or the grateful leper from the Gospel. When we finally recognize how God has blessed us, we must give thanks.
Sincerely yours in Christ Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life,
