November 10
Memorial of Saint Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church
Give a Mass Offering
Mass Intention
7:45 AM – Sheila Guinto / Jo Oliva & Family
Prayer for Spiritual Communion
My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the most Blessed Sacrament. I love You above all things and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there, and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.
Readings
First Reading
Wisdom 6:1-11
Hear, O kings, and understand; learn, you magistrates of the earth’s expanse! Hearken, you who are in power over the multitude and lord it over throngs of peoples! Because authority was given you by the Lord and sovereignty by the Most High, who shall probe your works and scrutinize your counsels. Because, though you were ministers of his kingdom, you judged not rightly, and did not keep the law, nor walk according to the will of God, Terribly and swiftly shall he come against you, because judgment is stern for the exalted– For the lowly may be pardoned out of mercy but the mighty shall be mightily put to the test. For the Lord of all shows no partiality, nor does he fear greatness, Because he himself made the great as well as the small, and he provides for all alike; but for those in power a rigorous scrutiny impends. To you, therefore, O princes, are my words addressed that you may learn wisdom and that you may not sin. For those who keep the holy precepts hallowed shall be found holy, and those learned in them will have ready a response. Desire therefore my words; long for them and you shall be instructed.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalms 82:3-4, 6-7
R. (8a) Rise up, O God, bring judgment to the earth.
Defend the lowly and the fatherless;
render justice to the afflicted and the destitute.
Rescue the lowly and the poor;
from the hand of the wicked deliver them.
R. Rise up, O God, bring judgment to the earth.
I said: “You are gods,
all of you sons of the Most High;
yet like men you shall die,
and fall like any prince.”
R. Rise up, O God, bring judgment to the earth.
Gospel Acclamation
1 Thessalonians 5:18
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
In all circumstances, give thanks,
for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Luke 17:11-19
As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem, he traveled through Samaria and Galilee. As he was entering a village, ten lepers met him. They stood at a distance from him and raised their voice, 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.”
“Rise up, O God, bring judgment to the earth.”
Reflection
From Wisdom 6:11 today in our first reading:
“Desire therefore my words; long for them and you shall be instructed.”
St. Leo the Great, whom we celebrate today, was a living example of these words. He served as Pope and died in the year 461, and because so deeply in his heart he desired the words of the Lord, he was a shepherd truly after the heart of Christ. He is remembered in the Church for his moving sermons that were both fatherly and pastoral. Very important to his teaching was defending the unity of the Church, frequently calling to mind the great dignity that is shared among us as God’s beloved sons and daughters. This unity must inform our actions each day.
Speaking of unity, always highlighted by the Gospel passage from Luke that we hear today is the challenging fact for Jesus’ audiences that a foreigner, an outsider, had faith that saved, or better “healed” him. It was a detail that hurt for many in Jesus’ Jewish audience to hear. Virtuous gratitude lived out by someone outside of the unity of our family? It couldn’t be! Often throughout Luke’s Gospel we are reminded that Jesus’ salvation is for all—even for us Gentiles today. It is in his salvation that all of us must be united. The more we desire and long for this salvation for all, and the more we open ourselves to be an instrument of the Lord’s grace and salvation alive and at work around us, the more we will learn and grow in holiness. The deeper we journey along the road of holiness, the easier it becomes for us to be docile to the Spirit.
The more we are docile to the Spirit, the more the disposition of true gratitude to God is nourished in our hearts. With Thanksgiving around the corner, let’s start to reflect. Am I grateful to God for what he has done in my life? Do I thank (Greek: Eucharisteo) him in the Eucharistic celebration and in Eucharistic Adoration? Am I grateful to the people God has put in my life? How do I express my gratitude?
(Reflection questions by Rev. Pablo T. Gadenz)
Peace,
Fr. Foley
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