Gratitude

"Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?"  Lk 17:17

A few years ago, following Hurricane Sandy, people in the Northeast United States were forced to think about basic needs and services. Not only were most of us without electricity for days, thousands of homes were destroyed and many other homes remain uninhabitable today.

Unfortunately, for most of us, it takes a storm like this to make us think about what we so often taken for granted. Being without electricity and heat for days, and being unable to find gasoline for our cars made us realize how dependent we are on the services which most of the time we can find anywhere, and forced us to pause in gratitude.

Jesus reminds us of this same reality. It was a foreigner, someone without a voice or a home, who returns after being healed to thank him. The clear call of the Gospel is to be thankful each day not only for the simple gifts of food, water and heat, but for life itself.

Today, thank someone who provides you with a basic service.

How do you avoid taking life's necessities for granted?