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” (Lk 17:17-19).

Bloodline doesn’t matter, gender doesn’t matter, nation doesn’t matter, ethnicity or race doesn’t matter. Ask Mary the mother of Jesus, ask the woman who suffered from hemorrhages for twelve years, ask the Roman centurion whose slave was dying, ask the Samaritan leper what matters. Each of them will share with us that what matters is our faith in Jesus the Christ.

The lifeblood of Christianity is our belief and faith in Jesus, the Son of God, who made his dwelling among us. St Irenaeus of Lyons (born in Smyrna about 135-140 AD and died about 202-203 AD) in his work Against the Heresies wrote: “The Word of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, who did through His transcendent love, become what we are, that he might bring us to be even what He is himself.” –  Jesus became one with us so we could be one with him!

Let us take some quiet time to thank Jesus today, for our very life, his constant presence, and his wonderful gift of the invitation to share in his divinity. Rest in his healing, nurturing embrace, inhale deeply. Allow all the tensions and anxieties to release such that our shoulders come down out of your ears. Be still and open your heart and mind to experience the wonder and joy of the same healing presence experienced by those in the Gospels.

Allow yourself to be touched by his love, his mercy, and his grace, and let the tears come if they arise. Stay as long as you like embraced by the shepherd. Let his love wash over you and through you. May our trust in him, our belief in him, and our faith in him deepen, such that when we do rise and go forth into our day, we share that same peace, love, joy, and divinity that we have just experienced and received.

Painting: The Sacred Heart of Jesus by Charles Bosseron Chambers

Link for today’s Mass readings:

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/111517.cfm