I will make a visit to the Eucharist today

by Father Alex Yeung, LC | Source: Catholic.net

Luke 17: 11-19

Introductory Prayer:

I love you my Lord, because you are love itself. Forgive all that is in me that does not come from your love and does not reflect your love. If I am to become what you want me to be, it will happen only if I allow you to act in me.

Petition:

Lord, grant me the gift of gratitude towards you.

1. From Receiver to Giver:

These poor lepers are outcasts, banned from communion with all society. Their only hope is Christ. They have nothing to lose by asking, and so they make their plea. Standing at a distance from Christ, according to the law, they acknowledge their own helplessness and beg for mercy. They receive it: Christ heals them, and they go on their way, satisfied with his gift. To our Lord's dismay, however, only one returns to give thanks. To give thanks in Greek is Eucharist. Only one is Eucharistic; only one is saved.

2. A Just Return:

Our Lord rewards gratitude. Why is our thanksgiving so important to God? In a way, by showing gratitude we justly return to God what he deserves. Take the example of the lepers: They are helpless outcasts. They can't do anything for themselves except beg much like our situation before God. We, too, are spiritual lepers begging God's mercy. If we were to accept God's gift without giving thanks, we would be reduced to mere consumers of grace, incapable of giving anything back. But God wants to save us from that predicament, and he asks our thanksgiving, Eucharist.

3. From Thanksgiving to Communion:

What is the dynamic of thanksgiving? When we give thanks, we are no longer passive recipients; we become active givers, giving back to One who has given us what we do not deserve. When we become active givers, God places us on another level another level capable of receiving even more from him. By giving thanks for what he had received, the leper was capable of receiving more from God. Indeed, he did receive more he was saved. Saved by God's mercy, he was now capable of receiving still more, of growing in intimacy with God. God invites us into a personal relationship today, into a Eucharistic relationship in which we are no longer mere passive recipients of his grace, but coworkers of his redemption. In living a life of thanksgiving, a Eucharistic life, we attract many blessings for our own souls, our families, our parish, and for souls in danger of being lost.

Conversation with Christ:

Lord, make me aware of the many gifts you have given me

so that I may respond to them and give you what you deserve:

my heartfelt thanksgiving.

May I be more thankful and thus deepen my communion with you.

Resolution:

I will make a visit to the Eucharist today and consider the many gifts God has given me. In adoration I will thank him with all my being.

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