how to say "thank you"
"Were not all ten made whole? Where are the other nine? Was there no one to return and give thanks to God except this foreigner?" —Luke 17:17-18
Naaman was thankful that the Lord healed him of leprosy. He offered holocausts and sacrifices to the Lord (2 Kgs 5:17).
Paul was thankful that the Lord saved him. He suffered "as a criminal, even to the point of being thrown into chains" (2 Tm 2:9). He was eventually martyred by being beheaded.
Another good Samaritan was thankful he was healed of leprosy. "He threw himself on his face at the feet of Jesus and spoke His praises" (Lk 17:16).
"A woman known in the town to be a sinner" (Lk 7:37) was so thankful to Jesus for forgiving her sins (see Lk 7:41-43) that "she brought in a vase of perfumed oil and stood behind Him at His feet, weeping so that her tears fell upon His feet. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissing them and perfuming them with the oil" (Lk 7:38).
We likewise have reason to be thankful. Jesus has died on the cross for each of us. He has freed us from our sins and given us a new nature. He promises to fill us with the Holy Spirit, raise us from the dead, and lead us home to God our Father. The Holy Trinity lives within us. We receive the body and blood of Jesus in Holy Communion. The Lord loves us unconditionally, perfectly, and infinitely. We owe Him an awesome, infinite, unpayable debt of gratitude.
In thanksgiving, let us offer our lives as living sacrifices (see Rm 12:1). Let us throw ourselves at Jesus' feet in abandonment to His will. In thanksgiving, let us live, love, suffer, and die for Jesus.
Prayer: Lord, teach me how to say "Thank You" to You.
Promise: "You can depend on this: if we have died with Him we shall also live with Him." —2 Tm 2:11
Praise: Jesus is risen! Jesus reigns forever! Alleluia!
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Robert A. Stricker, May 8, 2001
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, May 18, 2001