Luke 17:11-19 says, "Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, 'Jesus, Master, have pity on us!' When he saw them, he said, 'Go, show yourselves to the priests.' And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him - and he was a Samaritan.
Jesus asked, 'Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?' Then he said to him, 'Rise and go; your faith has made you well.'"
One man was very obviously showing his appreciation to Jesus for healing him, while the others left. I believe they were so excited by their new found healing that they simply got caught up in the moment and forgot to thank Jesus. That seems to be human nature sometimes when we receive a supreme blessing. It is so easy to get caught up in what has just happened that we may forget at first to thank the One who gave us that blessing.
Psalm 107:8-9 says, "Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things."
===
Saint Damien de Veuster [pictured above on his deathbed] was a Roman Catholic missionary who ministered to lepers on the Hawaiian island of Molokai...Jozef De Veuster, was a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium and member of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary,[2] a missionary religious institute...After sixteen years caring for the physical, spiritual, and emotional needs of those in the leper colony, he eventually contracted and died of the disease, and is considered a "martyr of charity".
Like Ezekiel he went and 'sat with the captives by the river even though he was not a captive'... Six months after his arrival at Kalawao he wrote his brother, Pamphile, in Europe:
...I make myself a leper with the lepers to gain all to Jesus Christ.
Mahatma Gandhi Answers the Challenge of Leprosy, as saying,
The political and journalistic world can boast of very few heroes who compare with Father Damien of Molokai. The Catholic Church, on the contrary, counts by the thousands those who after the example of Fr. Damien have devoted themselves to the victims of leprosy. It is worthwhile to look for the sources of such heroism.
Our Lady of the Forsaken:
In 1409, a Valencian priest confronted a mob who were preparing to lynch a mentally-ill homeless man near Santa Catalina. Father Jofre exhorted the mob to take pity on the poor soul, instead of stoning him to death. He would later base an important sermon on this and, as a result, Valencia would become the first city in the world to open an asylum for the mentally ill.
he asylum was run by a group of nuns, whose symbol was Our Lady of the Forsaken (Mare de Déu dels Desamparats). Over time, this symbol grew in importance and today Our Lady Valencia’s most well-loved and famous icon. It’s important to remember that she embodies Valencia’s historically unique role in caring for society’s most down-trodden members.
No comments:
Post a Comment