Dear friends in Christ

The terrible disease of leprosy is presented in the First Reading and Gospel of the Mass this Sunday, but as means to a greater good. Naaman is converted to the true religion by a miracle performed by the Prophet Elisha, but this brought him to a realisation that the gift of faith was greater than his physical cure. The cure of the ten lepers by Jesus similarly manifests the gift of faith. Those lepers are teachers of prayer. They cried out for divine mercy, to the One who is the source of all mercy. They demonstrate the road to healing, a road which is open to us all. The lesson is to have faith and to be docile to those who point us towards God and who speak in His name. These encounters in the Scriptures also teach us the need for gratitude. We receive so many gifts from God, often at the hands of those we habitually have contact with in daily life. When we live by faith, we will find only reasons for thanksgiving. No day goes by without cause for thanksgiving. Each night, when we examine our conscience, we can ask ourselves if we have truly lived in thanksgiving this day. Prayer is the most effective form of thanksgiving, since by prayer, we express gratitude to God for all the graces He has given us. Perhaps we might repeat that prayer of Saint Thomas More, during his incarceration in the Tower of London as he awaited execution: I give you thanks my God, for all that you have given me; for all that you have taken from me; for all that you have left me. Amen!

Msgr Kevin Hale