En nuestros tiempos se conversa sobre muchas cosas: moda, política, belleza, o sobre quién tiene mejor estatus en la sociedad. Pero de lo que rara vez se dialoga es sobre la fe.
Para muchas personas, ese tema parece pasado de moda. Sin embargo, el domingo pasado y este domingo, Jesús nos muestra lo que es la fe. Hoy se alaba el espíritu de agradecimiento de un leproso, y ese agradecimiento a Dios nace precisamente de su fe. Fueron curados diez, pero solo uno, nos narra el Evangelio, regresó a dar gracias: "Uno de ellos, al verse sano, volvió de inmediato alabando a Dios en alta voz, y se echó a los pies de Jesús con el rostro en tierra, dándole las gracias" (Lucas 17:15-16).
Después de ese acto de gratitud, se dio un diálogo entre Jesús y el hombre, y Jesús le dio una respuesta inmediata: "Levántate y vete: tu fe te ha salvado" (Lucas 17:19).
San Atanasio de Alejandría, en su Carta Festal (c. 295–373), dice lo siguiente: "El Maestro alabó el espíritu agradecido de uno de aquellos, pero le disgustó el comportamiento de los nueve ingratos, porque no reconocieron al autor de su beneficio. Pensaron más en la curación de su lepra que en quien los había curado. Ciertamente, el que fue curado escuchó del Señor: 'Levántate, vete: tu fe te ha salvado'. Los agradecidos y los que alaban a Dios son como hermanos, que bendicen a
su Salvador por los beneficios que de Él han recibido."
¡Señor, dame un corazón agradecido!
Gospel Reflection
Dorothy Day, the great Catholic activist,
doubted God s existence. At least in her
early adult years. But something
changed when after giving birth to her
daughter, she experienced an
overwhelming gratitude. She later
described how, as she held her
daughter, the only appropriate
response was a kind of unlimited
gratitude. She had done nothing to
deserve such a gift this tiny,
miraculous life but there she was,
flooded with gratitude, completely
undone by the love of such a Giver.
Something similar occurs in Luke 17:19
when Jesus tells a healed leper, Stand
up and go; your faith has saved
you.
This man had already received
physical healing through his faith. But
the moment of an even deeper
transformation came when he turned
back, fell at Jesus ’ feet, and gave
thanks. Like Dorothy, this man s
gratitude led him to encounter the
Giver.
Isn
t that what we want, too?
Gratitude
to God has the power to break our
chains of sadness, bitterness, and
disenchantment. It empowers us to
step out of the prison of self self-pity and
into the reality of God s abundant love.
It shifts our focus from what we lack to
what we have received, from what
wounds us to what heals us.
Where do we learn this?
The Mass. The
priest prays: It is truly right and just,
our duty and our salva salvation, always and
everyevery-where to give you thanks.”
Always. Everywhere. Not just when life
is easy. Not just when prayers are
answered as we expect. Gratitude is not
a passive feeling; it is an act of faith. In
the eucharist, we remember that Christ
himself has given everything for us. And
in this act of gratitude, we are healed.
— Father John Muir