Gratitude (Pasasalamat)

28th Sunday C (Lk.17:11-19)

Attitude of Gratitude

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?"(Lk.17:17-18).

There were two beggars who sought alms in the streets of a big city. Along their route they used to go past the palace of the king who always saw to it that they got bread. One of the beggars thanked the king for his generosity, but other thanked God for having given the king the power and the means with which to help his subjects. This irked the king and he told the beggar, "Why is it that when I am generous to you, you thank someone else for it?" The beggar answered, "If God were not generous to you, you would have nothing to give me." The king decided to teach him a lesson. He ordered his cook to bake two loaves of bread and hide some jewels in one of them, and to make sure that the beggar who used to thank him gets this special loaf. In this way the beggar who only thanks God would regret why he did not thank him. But when the man who used to thank him got the bread with jewels, he noticed that it was heavier than normal. This implied that it had been poorly baked so he swapped it with his companion and they went on separate ways. When the beggar who always thanked God began to eat his bread, he found the gems inside it and thanked God that now he would no longer have to beg for alms. After some time the king noticed the beggar who used to thank him still remain poor and kept coming back to the palace. He asked him, "What did you do with the special loaf of bread handed out to you sometime ago? The beggar said, "When I felt it was heavy, I thought it was poorly baked so exchanged it with the bread of my fellow beggar." Then the king understood why the other beggar had thanked God and not him.

Do we acknowledge God as the source of all that we are and all that we have? Do we express our gratitude to Him for His goodness to us? Gratitude is the homage our hearts pay as we recognize and appreciate the kindness, courtesy, love, and compassion shown to us. This kind of attitude is what the Samaritan leper would like to teach us. As Jesus was entering the village, ten lepers met Him and raising their voices said, "Jesus Master! Have pity on us!" When He saw them, He said, "Go show yourselves to the priests." As they were going they were cleansed. One of them, a Samaritan, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. The Samaritan was grateful because he recognized and appreciated the mercy shown to him.

The attitude of gratitude is only possible to those people who know how to recognize and appreciate the kindness they received. Like the Samaritan leper, we should recognize and appreciate the mercy God has shown us. Secondly, let us express our gratitude to God with the same amount of intensity that we have when we pray desperately for our needs. Oftentimes we are good when we ask for something but once our prayers are answered we forget to thank God. Lastly, as we remember the love, the many acts of kindness that we received, and the goodness that surrounds us, we too must be inspired to show the same act of love, kindness, and compassion.

One time I anointed an elderly woman, since she has no kids, her niece takes care of her. I told the niece, "How nice of you to be taking care of her!" She said to me, "When I was young, she took care of me, now I am glad to make a return by taking care of her." Let us make ourselves worthy of God's grace by making His love present wherever we are. Let us thank the Lord and forget not His benefits.