By Fr. Andrew Kelly
TWENTY EIGHTH SUNDAY ORDINAL TIME — OCTOBER 13, 2013
The Eucharist is the anchor that keeps the believing community alive. Yet the Sunday gatherings seem to be getting smaller and smaller. In Sunday’s Gospel (Luke 17:11-19), Luke may offer some insight.
All 10 lepers were religious people. All cried out in prayer: “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’” All 10 were healed, but only one found the way back to Jesus for Eucharist (to give thanks).
What made the difference for the Samaritan was that the Samaritan realized the healing was an unearned gift of God’s grace in and through Jesus Christ. Thus the need to give thanks (Eucharist) in the Samaritan’s life.
Seeing the gift of Jesus’ power and presence in every facet of human life is essential if Eucharist is going to be celebrated with intention, ardor and vigor. Could it be that the Eucharist crisis is really a spirituality crisis within the community?
Breathing is both natural and essential for human life. When the religious person begins to see and believe that breathing is really God and humans inhaling and exhaling in tandem, as a tether of gifted grace and life, then Eucharist becomes an absolute need as the Samaritan demonstrated so powerfully in Sunday’s Gospel.
(Father Andrew Kelly is a retired priest of the Diocese of Davenport.)
Scripture Readings for Oct. 13-20
Sunday
2 Kgs 5:14-17
2 Tm 2:8-13
Lk 17:11-19
Monday
Rom 1:1-7
Lk 11:29-32
Tuesday
Rom 1:16-25
Lk 11:37-41
Wednesday
Rom 2:1-11
Lk 11:42-46
Thursday
Rom 3:21-30
Lk 11:47-54
Friday
2 Tm 4:10-17b
Lk 10:1-9
Saturday
Rom 4:13, 16-18
Lk 12:8-12
Sunday
Ex 17:8-13
2 Tm 3:14-4:2
Lk 18:1-8
