32nd Week, Wednesday, November 12; Saint Josaphat
Wisdom 6:1-11 / Luke 17:11-19
Desire God's word; Seek God's wisdom.
A blind leper heard about Braille and asked to learn it. One of his dreams was to read the Bible again. But then the leper made a tragic discovery. His disease had made his fingers too insensitive to feel the raised letters of Braille. It was a crushing blow. He was on the verge of despair. Then the leper realized that there was one part of his body that was still sensitive enough to be able to feel the letters. It was his tongue. And that is how he reads the Bible today.***
How eagerly do we read or listen to God's word in Scripture? “Here is a book, the Bible, worth more than all others that were ever printed; yet it is my misfortune never to have found time to read it.” Patrick Henry, Near-death
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The Jewish kings were God’s representatives to the people by virtue of their anointing. Now comes the author of the book of Wisdom and says that also pagan rulers have received their authority from God. They must exercise it wisely for doing good, in accordance with God’s law, because they have to give an account to God.
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"Thank you" maybe just two words, but it is easy to forget to say them and at times even difficult to say them. We can forget to say them when we don't appreciate the good deeds that people do for us, or we may just take them for granted. We can forget to say "thank you" when people give way to us when we are going in or coming out of the MRT, or when others give way to us on the road.
And we might find it difficult to be thankful, especially to God, when we are going through a rough time and we feel that He isn't helping us or answering our prayers. But with whatever little faith that we have, we must believe that God only wants the best for us, and when we pray, we also must believe that God is listening and that He knows what we want.
If we can thank God even if our prayers are not answered according to the way we want it, then we can be sure that our faith in God has deepened, and that we can trust Him enough to say that He knows what He is doing and that He knows what He is going to do.
Thankfulness and gratitude are the expressions of our faith. May we do our best in thanking God and believe that He only wants to do the best for us.
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In the account of the cure of the ten lepers, Luke stresses the contrast between the nine Jews who, after their cure, go to comply with the rules of the law, but forget about gratitude and the Samaritan who returns to thank Jesus. We too, often forget to be grateful for gifts received. Maybe it is a bit humiliating to be reminded of our dependence on others... Let us not forget that God’s love comes to us usually through people who care and help. For all the good done to us, particularly through Jesus Christ, we give thanks in this Eucharist, this thanksgiving.
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Prayer
Lord God, from you comes all we are and have; we owe you above all forgiveness and life through your Son, Jesus Christ. We pray you today for grateful hearts. Make us thankful for the right things, not merely for being lucky in life nor for the happiness of the self-satisfied but for the joy that in him even suffering and death have meaning. Accept all our thanks through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen
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Saint Josaphat
Feast day November 12
Josaphat was born John Kuncevic in the Ukraine around 1580. He worked as a merchant until 1604, when he became a monk of the Ukrainian Order of Saint Basil and took the name Josaphat. Five years later, he was ordained a priest of the Byzantine Church. People came to him for spiritual advice. They were moved by his preaching and by his life, for he fasted often and was faithful to the prayers and customs of the people. In his thirties, he was made bishop of Vitebsk and then archbishop of Polotsk.
He found the diocese in terrible condition, and he saw much unrest among the people. Josaphat had been raised in the Byzantine culture, and he was also faithful to the rule of the Church of Rome. There were strong groups, however, who opposed Rome and Latin rule. These people named their own bishop. Disturbances broke out as people took sides. Josaphat decided to go to Vitebsk, the center of the disturbance. While Josaphat was there, a priest named Elias kept shouting insults at him. A deacon had the priest locked up. The mob rioted and demanded the release of Elias. He was released, but the angry mob broke through all barriers until they made their way to Bishop Josaphat. They beat him and then shot him to death on November 12, 1623. The man who had worked for unity all his life was killed by a violent mob. People were shocked, and much honor was paid to his memory.
