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This reflection is based on Luke 18:1-8.

There was a time in my life when prayer felt like second nature. Whenever I was stuck in traffic, I would simply shut the world out and quietly say my rosary. Not only did I get the chance to pray for people who asked for prayers, but I also got to reconnect with the Lord in all sorts of places. You see, even if as we believe, God’s presence is constant and everywhere, we don’t always get to maintain our sense of that holy presence. But even in jeepney rides, I would be discreetly racing through my beads, praying even for the strangers I was commuting with.

This homily is based on Luke 17:11-19.

There was probably more than one leper who was grateful for this cure. I imagine all ten were thankful to Jesus for their much-awaited, long prayed-for miracle, one that finally released them not only from the ugly marks of leprosy, but also from the just-as-ugly remarks that society flung their way because of their infectious disease.

The point of the story is not that there was just one grateful leper, but that only one remembered Jesus and felt enough gratitude to him to make a U turn to say, “Thank you!” The others were in too much of a rush to resume a normal life. I think the Lord’s message for me here is that it isn’t enough to feel gratitude; we need to exert the effort to express it. It matters, he seems to be telling us. It makes a difference. So what ought we to do when we are grateful?