November 26, 2024

Every year, we celebrate Thanksgiving at Mercy Home for Boys & Girls with spiritual celebrations at both of our campuses. In the prayer service that begins these evenings, I read the passage from St. Luke’s gospel (17:11-19) and reflect on the ultimate meaning of gratitude in our lives. In that reading, Jesus meets ten lepers during his journey to Jerusalem and heals them of their terrible affliction.

I simply can’t overstate the significance of this miracle to these ten people. You see, in those times, leprosy was essentially a death sentence. If you were afflicted, you were cast out of society. Forced to leave everything and everyone you loved and cherished. So when Jesus removes this awful burden, he gives each of the ten a new life. Each one now free to throw away the bandages and rags covering their infected skin, to return to their homes, and to be embraced once again by the community, by family, by those they hold dear. How does one even begin to express gratitude to someone for giving them their life back?

And yet, as Jesus notes with a measure of disappointment, only one of these ten former lepers walked back to him to say thank you. Interestingly, it was the Samaritan. Or to put it into the social context of that time and place, an outcast among the outcasts. Someone from a group historically viewed by the others as an enemy. But of course, Jesus didn’t see anyone as an enemy or an outcast. His was a heart filled with the love of the Father for all humanity. That heart was the source of all of the miracles we witness in the New Testament.

In fact, Luke emphasizes Christ’s special companionship for outcasts throughout his Gospel. The leper, the Samaritan, the possessed, the prodigal son and others. Luke shows us a Jesus who invites everyone to the Father’s table. Who declares everyone as worthy of love. As worthy of salvation.

And here, in his parable of the lepers, we see the Samaritan returning to kneel at Jesus’ feet and thanking him for the gift of new life. In response, Jesus told the man: “Stand up and go. Your faith has saved you.”

After reading the Gospel to our young people and coworkers, I recalled a conversation I had about it with my spiritual director of nearly 50 years. The lesson he took from Luke’s Gospel was, he said, the simple secret to a happy life. And that secret is that being grateful leads us to have a generous heart. It moves us to care for one another, no matter our differences or our similarities. And, he said, having a generous heart leads us to have a happy heart.

That’s why I am so optimistic about the future for our young people. Especially at this time of year when they recount the many acts of generosity that they do for one another and for the community. Each one an expression of gratitude. And all of them leading to a deeper, lasting happiness.

The same is true for my coworkers who support each other and our young people. Coworkers driven by a generosity of spirit—I always say that coworkers like this are the secret to what makes this mission work so well.

And finally, it’s true of our friends and donors who support this mission—they too are moved by generous hearts to share their blessings and make sure our coworkers and our young people have the resources they need to make real change. To make a better home, a better community, and a better world.

As we head into Thanksgiving, I of course want us each to remember and reflect on all the things and people in our lives for which we’re grateful. But I also have a special request inspired by Luke’s Gospel. I want us to remember Jesus’s special outreach and welcome to those who may feel they don’t belong. Maybe there’s someone in your life with whom you have a long-standing conflict, or a falling out. Make this a time to end it. Welcome them to the table of Thanksgiving this year. Mend fences. Love your neighbors. And let’s resolve to live with grateful, generous, and happy hearts for all that God has made possible in our lives.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Fr. Scott Donahue
President/CEO