The Sunday Sermon Archive

Dear Friends in Christ,

In today's Gospel reading (Luke 17:11-19), we see ten lepers approach Our Lord to be healed. Jesus sent them to show themselves to the priests, but only one man (a Samaritan) returned to give thanks to God. Of all the physical ailments that Jesus cured, it is only with these lepers that they are directed to show themselves to the priests. Because of this, Saint Augustine suggests to us that leprosy is symbolic of heresy. It has been given to the Church (the priests) to discern true doctrine from false doctrine. It is the priests (the Church) that must examine the individuals and declare them to be cleansed of sin (leprosy) or to be healthy in the life of grace.

The nine Israelites were made clean, but they forgot or neglected to return to give thanks to God for the miracle that they received. It is this pride and vanity that has excluded the Jews from the Church and eternal life. Though they were healthy in body, they were diseased in soul. Saint Augustine says that nine is an incomplete number, and therefore there is an incompleteness to the religion of the Jews.

He [Saint Augustine] says that "Samaritan" means guardian. The one Samaritan represents to us the One true Church — the guardian of our souls. The humble grateful heart of the Samaritan represents to us the true Church. The Jews had lost their place as the chosen people of God and the Law of God. The Samaritan has now taken their place as the true guardian of the true Church. What was lost among the many [the nine] is guarded and protected in the one [Samaritan].

The multitude or the majority must not lead us aside. As we can see in this instance of the ten lepers, the majority were not pleasing to God, but rather the minority. Even though he was a Samaritan and not a member of the chosen people of Israel, He found favor with God. It does not take a lot of pride or vanity to destroy all the good that may be in us, but a little humility and gratitude can truly lift us from the deepest pit. It is wonderful to think of those who were/are outwardly observant of the Laws of God and who are also humble of heart.

Saint Peter tells us that "Charity covers a multitude of sins" (1 Peter 4:8). This applies to both true love of our neighbors, and even more so to true love of God. Charity, humility, and all the virtues of the soul make us pleasing to God and to good men. Pride, vanity, and all vices of the soul make us displeasing to God and to good men. Our outward works may appear good and holy, but may be corrupted by the intentions of the soul. The Chosen People of the Old Testament focused upon this outward appearance of goodness or conformity to the Law of God and did not concern themselves with the inner life of their souls. The Samaritan who may not have kept all the outward observances kept the inner observance of his soul. The Samaritan, despite whatever defects there may have been in following the "letter of the Law," found favor with God because of the humility and love of God in his heart.

Humility and love lift us, and pride and vanity drag us down. The outward observance of the Law of God is meant to be a reminder of what we must do spiritually rather than just a mechanical conformity to regulations. The right order is the inner life of humility and charity manifested in the outward observance of the Law. If we combine the outward observance of the Law with the inner observance of the Law, we are on the path to holiness and eternal happiness in Heaven.

Keeping the outward appearance of obedience and love of God is not the goal. Nor is striving to keep hidden our love and obedience to God. We must in truth and reality love and obey God both interiorly and exteriorly. We must be good Catholics not just in works or appearances, but in truth and reality. Nor is it enough to be interiorly "Catholic," refusing to participate and support the Church. "Faith without works is dead" (James 2:26). And works without faith are mechanical, heartless, and empty.

We must pray, not just with words, but from our hearts. We must attend Mass not just with our physical presence, but with our hearts and minds. We must support the Church with our tithing not just mechanically or for social reasons, but with love and gratitude in our hearts to promote the greater honor and glory of God through His Bride, the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. Having a rosary in our pockets or hanging from the mirror does not make us good Catholics. Praying the Rosary is what we need to strive for. Praying the Rosary in our hearts and minds without the physical sacramental blessed rosary in our hands is good. Still, it is much better when both the external and internal actions of our bodies and souls are in agreement and conformity. We should strive to promote the Kingdom of God here on earth as it is in Heaven, both in the inner actions of our hearts and souls, as well as in the outward actions of our bodies.

May the Immaculate Heart of Mary inspire, guide, and protect us.

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