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Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Rabbi Harold S. Kushner wrote the following in his book entitled, THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD: HEALING WISDOM OF THE TWENTY-THIRD PSALM: “Each night as I prepare for bed, I put drops in my eyes to fend off the threat of glaucoma that would rob me of my sight and take from me the pleasure of reading. Each morning at breakfast, I take a pill to control my blood pressure, and each evening at dinner I take another to lower my cholesterol level. But instead of lamenting the ailments that come with growing older, instead of wishing that I were young and fit as I once was, I take my medicine with a prayer of thanks that modern science has found ways to help me cope with these ailments. I think of all my ancestors who didn’t live long enough to develop the complications of old age and did not have pills to take when they did.”
Like the leper in today’s Gospel story, we realize that we have been “cured” despite the problems we face, that our blessings far outweigh our struggles, that we have reason to rejoice and hope, despite the sadness and anxieties we must cope with. We call that “gratitude,” and it is a conscious and intentional perspective of looking at our lives and our world, in a more positive and optimistic manner. All too often we are quick to make a list of our problems and disappointments in our thoughts, and even when someone asks, “how are you today?” than to recall the things that are good and going well. Gratitude transforms cynicism into positive thinking; transforms resentment into thankfulness; and open up our mind to the presence of God in our experiences of life. Yes, no doubt, there will be plenty of reasons for us to have regrets and feel disheartened. Gratitude can go a long way toward making those feelings less heavy on our hearts. -Msgr. Greg