yourselves to the priests.” Then,as they went on their way, they found they were cured. One
of them, as soon as he saw that he was cleansed, turned back, praising God in a loud voice;
and throwing himself on his face before Jesus, he gave him thanks.
This man was a Samaritan.

Then Jesus asked him, “Were not all ten healed? Where are the other nine? Did none of
them decide to return and give praise to God, but this foreigner?” And Jesus said to him,
“Stand up and go your way; your faith has saved you.”

Read:

Filled with gratitude for the healing, Naaman pledges allegiance to Yahweh. Paul vouches
for the eternal fidelity of God. Of the ten leprosy patients healed, only a Samaritan returns
to thank Jesus.

Reflect:

“If the only prayer you evermake in your life is ‘thank you, Lord’, that is enough!” (Julian
of Norwich). Behavioral scientists are now discovering the benefits of many virtues that
have been traditionally part of Christian praxis. One such virtue is gratitude. In the famous
“Nun Study”, David Snowdon and team of the University of Kentucky analyzed one-page
autobiographical essays written by 180 nuns of the American School Sisters of Notre
Dame before their final profession (average age 22). They found that 70 nuns whose
writings displayed positive emotions, with gratitude being one of them, lived beyond age
90 – which was 2.5 to 3 times more than the number of nuns whose writings were low
on positivity. Further, with 85% accuracy, the researchers predicted the possibility of
Alzheimer’s disease: those happy, grateful nuns had a significantly lower probability of
developing the disease. Gratitude and its derivatives are beneficial not only for the soul,
but for the body and the mind as well.

Pray:

Make a prayer of thanksgiving to God.

Act:

Today, thank your parents/siblings for the good things they have done for you.

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