Daily Gospel Reflection
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November 23, 2023
As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem,
he traveled through Samaria and Galilee.
As he was entering a village, ten persons with leprosy met him.
They stood at a distance from him and raised their voices, saying,
“Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!”
And when he saw them, he said,
“Go show yourselves to the priests.”
As they were going they were cleansed.
And one of them, realizing he had been healed,
returned, glorifying God in a loud voice;
and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.
He was a Samaritan.
Jesus said in reply,
“Ten were cleansed, were they not?
Where are the other nine?
Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?”
Then he said to him, “Stand up and go;
your faith has saved you.”
Reflection
The word used in today’s gospel to describe the Samaritan thanking Jesus was, in the original Greek, εὐχαριστῶ. Eucharisteo means giving thanks and is the root of our word Eucharist.
There are many facets to the sacramental theology of the Eucharist. The Eucharist is communion with God through Christ and with the church as the Body of Christ. It is a work of the Holy Spirit, a manifestation of Jesus’ Real Presence on earth, a memorial of his death, and a celebration of his resurrection. And, at its core, it is a feast of thanksgiving.
When we give thanks in the Eucharist, we not only thank God for what has been done for us; we also give thanks for our own transformation into Christ’s Body through Christ’s saving life, death, and resurrection. We give thanks for Jesus’ saving work, and we enter into that very work in the sacrament. And we give thanks for becoming that which we consume: Christ’s Body here on earth.
In today’s gospel, while all of the lepers were healed, it was only the tenth who returned to Jesus, glorifying God and thanking Jesus. Jesus responds that it is this healed man’s faith that saved him—not healed him. All were healed, regardless of merit. But it is through his faith, in returning to Christ with thanks, that he is saved and transformed by entering into Jesus’ work of salvation.
In our celebrations of American Thanksgiving today, let us pray that we might be unified with each other in love, see Christ in each other, and, just like the Samaritan, know we are unworthy of what God does for us but still give thanks and praise and enter deeper into our relationship with God.
Prayer
God, you have made us and blessed us richly. All that we have comes from you. May we never lose sight of our dependence on you, and may our whole lives be a sign of our gratitude to you. Help us to give without cost, just as we have received without cost. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saint of the Day

Clement I was the fourth pope to lead the Roman Church. Clement was a follower of St. Peter and potentially even St. Paul. Clement is famous for his letter to the Corinthians, the community which received two of Paul's most famous letters. Clement's letter is written in response to a schism in the community in Corinth but we know little else about this pope from historical records.
The legend of his martyrdom has been passed on throughout the centuries, however, chronicles an unusual path from papacy to execution. According to this ancient legend, the Roman populace rioted to have Christians expelled, and Clement, as the Bishop of Rome, was expelled to work in a marble quarry. There were many Christians who were forced to work there, and Clement encouraged and supported them.
The guards at the quarry noticed that he was converting many of his fellow workers to Christianity. Subsequently, Clement was ordered to be executed by drowning. An anchor was tied around his neck and Clement was thrown into the sea.

In the letter to the Corinthians, Clement writes:
"Beloved, how blessed and wonderful are God's gifts! There is life everlasting, joy in righteousness, truth in freedom, faith, confidence, and self-control in holiness. And these are the gifts that we can comprehend; what of all the others that are being prepared for those who look to him. Only the Creator, the Father of the ages, the all-holy, knows their grandeur and their loveliness."
Clement I is a patron saint of those who work on the water and of marble workers. Some of his relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on campus.
Pope St. Clement, pope and patron saint of those who work on the water—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of Pope St. Clement I is in the public domain. Last accessed October 18, 2024 on Wikimedia Commons.