Fr. Jorge Miró shares with Exaudi readers his commentary on the Gospel for Sunday, October 12, entitled “Has no one returned except this foreigner to give glory to God?”

***

The Word that the Lord gives us today invites us to live the joy of salvation.

This is the profound experience of one who has encountered Jesus Christ and allowed himself to be led by his Spirit. He who encounters Jesus Christ has been reborn, has a new life :

This is what today’s Alleluia tells us:  Give thanks in all circumstances; this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you  (cf. 1 Thess 5:18). And so too does the Psalm:  Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done wonderful things.

Today’s Gospel presents the scene of the ten lepers who come to meet Jesus seeking healing from that terrible disease.

The ten are healed, but only one is able to return and thank Him for the gift he has received. In giving thanks, he discovers a new gift: salvation. “Your faith has saved you,” Jesus tells him.

We too often turn to Jesus for healing. Jesus is not a “healer”; Jesus is the Savior.

And it should remind us that healings are not limited to themselves:  they are an invitation to discover that Jesus is the Lord, the Savior. They help us discover that the   deepest ailment of humankind is the absence of God.

And the Word tells us how the Lord heals us, that is, saves us. Remember, the goal of your life is not   to grow old, but to reach heaven.

God creates the universe through the Word. And the same thing happens in your life:  God accomplishes the work of the new creation in you, through Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, with the gift of his Spirit.

This is where true healing begins:  listening to the Lord, welcoming his Word, which is always Good News, a Word of love, life, and salvation. Last Sunday, the Word reminded us of this: “May you listen today to the voice of the Lord: ‘Harden not your hearts'”.

And this Word, accepted with faith and obeyed, heals your ailments.  And it will heal them as the Lord wills.  This is what happens to General Naaman, the Syrian, whose story is told in the first reading:  he went down and bathed in the Jordan seven times, according to the word of the man of God. And his flesh was again like that of a little child: he was cleansed of his leprosy.  He had his doubts, but in the end he believed and obeyed.

You too, if you believe, will see the glory of God.

And if you accept salvation, you will live in gratitude and praise.  Gratitude is the memory of the heart.

And that’s why you can live in praise, because it is the echo produced by the presence of the Lord and the action of the Holy Spirit in your life.

It is the fruit of tasting salvation, the new life   the Lord has given you.  Then you can sing like the Psalmist:  The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…  Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.

The Holy Spirit is the one who grants you eyes of faith so you can see the Lord in the midst of your life, in the midst of your suffering, of your cross. He assures you that God loves you, that He is with you, that He walks with you.

Take heart! Ask for the gift of the Holy Spirit so that you may see the Lord in the midst of your life, of your story, and thus be able to live in blessing, in gratitude, in praise.

Come, Holy Spirit!