28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Ten lepers approached the Lord. All ten were healed from their leprosy but only one came back to offer gratitude and praise. Jesus made him an example for all.
Gratitude is a very important attitude for all of us. Gratitude is the only appropriate disposition we can have before the Lord. What does it mean to be truly grateful to God?
As a sign of our gratitude to God we can choose to offer a prayer of thanks, or a mass of thanksgiving or even a part of our treasure but ultimately what God wants is an offering of ourselves.
In the first reading, Naaman was healed from his leprosy by taking a bath in the river Jordan. Gratefully Naaman offered gifts to Elisha but Elisha rejected them. So Naaman promised, “I will no longer offer holocaust or sacrifice to any other god except the Lord.” Naaman understood that it was not gifts that Elisha wanted but his profession of faith, his very life.
And so, during the offertory of the mass when we offer money for the collections we do not only offer money but our offering invites us ultimately to offer ourselves. Kitang-kita ang paanyayang ito kapag nagmimisa sa barrio, lalu na sa liblib na lugar. Pagdating ng pag-aalay, yung magbababoy ang alay, baboy. Yung magmamanok ang alay, manok. Yung magugulay ang alay, gulay. Malinaw na malinaw na ang kanilang alay ay simbulo ng kanilang sarili.
Being grateful to God entails more than our prayers of thanksgiving, more than the offering of what we have. Genuine gratitude to God demands an offering of ourselves, a surrendering of our time, talent and treasure for selfless service, a profession of faith to a generous God.
