Twenty-ninth Sunday After Pentecost (Col. 3:4–11; Lk. 17:12–19)

Ten lepers were healed, yet only one came back to thank the Lord. Is not this the proportion of the grateful among the general multitude of those who receive blessings from the Lord? Who has not received good things—or rather, what is there in us or that happens to us that is not for our good? And yet, does everyone thank God, and for everything? There are even those who permit themselves to ask: “Why did God grant existence? It would have been better for us not to exist.” God gave you existence so that you might be blessed forever; He gave you existence as a gift, and as a gift supplied you with every means of attaining eternal blessedness; the rest is up to you—it only requires a little effort. You say: “But my life is full of sorrows, poverty, illness, misfortune.” Well, these too are among the means of acquiring eternal blessedness: endure. Your whole life cannot even be called a moment compared to eternity. Even if one had to suffer throughout life without interruption, it would still be nothing against eternity—and you still have moments of consolation. Do not look at what is present, but at what is being prepared for you in the future; take care to make yourself worthy of it, and then you will not notice your sorrows. They will all be swallowed up in the sure hope of eternal comfort, and gratitude will not fall silent on your lips.