Year 36 No. 13 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)—Green October 9, 2022 by Fr. Arnel dC. Aquino, SJ Indigenous Peoples’ Sunday • Extreme Poverty Sunday Ten lepers appeal to Jesus for healing. Jesus tells them, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” As they are going, they are cleansed. One of them, realizing he has been healed, returns right away to thank Jesus. This is the picture that Luke’s narrative usually presents. But if all ten lepers follow Jesus’ instruction, a different scenario may be depicted. In Jesus’ day, when a socalled leper claims to have been healed, religious law requires that he submit himself to the examination of a priest over a period of weeks. The priest observes the person’s skin lesions and notes their size, shape, and color. Only upon the priest’s confirmation that his lesions are healed or gone will the patient receive a “clean bill of health.” The exleper may then enjoy, at least supposedly, the many happy privileges of a purified Jew, like worshipping at the Temple or coming to the synagogue for services. Best of all, he will no longer have to ring a bell to warn people to step aside when he enters a village—or yell, “Unclean, unclean!” He will finally be one of them: a dignified, bona fide, pure member of the community. Thanks to Jesus, ten lepers are healed and are going to be issued a bill of health upon confirmation of a Temple priest. As it may take weeks for the priest to confirm the healing, it must therefore take some time before this one leper can come back to thank Jesus. In fact, the man (a Samaritan) must search for Jesus since the Lord is ever on the move. For this gentleman, no gratitude is ever too late. No matter how long it takes him or how difficult, no measure of exhaustion, false leads, or dead ends deter him from looking for the Lord, to thank him in person. Just as the Lord cannot be outdone in generosity, we, in turn, can never over-thank him. The word “thank” comes from the old German thankoz, which also means “thought” or “remembrance,” as well as gratitude, of course. So, to say, “Thank you,” is also to say, “I think of you.” In other words, just as we can never over-thank God, we can also say we can never think of God enough! Yet, when we do thank God, it is we who benefit from the gratitude. When we thank God, we think of God. When we think of God, we grow in grace, we profit from the thought, we benefit from the gratitude. We realize how blessed we are and how we do not deserve our blessings. So, all the more we praise God for giving us what exceeds our true worth. When Jesus asks the grateful man, “Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine?” I do not think Jesus begrudges the nine their absence. Jesus must be joyfully surprised that after all this time, someone should take the trouble, and a “foreigner” of all people, probably a nonbeliever in God—to seek him out to thank him personally. Jesus does not entitle himself to anyone’s gratitude, which is probably why it makes for an even happier surprise that someone should come and thank him at all. For Jesus, the sheer joy in sharing God’s blessings is its own reward. Likewise, the gratitude of the thanker is its own wondrous healing. We can never over-thank God. God has no need of our praise, and our prayer of thanksgiving adds nothing to his greatness. But our gratitude makes us grow in God’s grace. And if I may add, if we wish to be healed of our long festering sores, a deepening and more deliberate sense of gratitude may help us along. Thank you, God. I think of you, God. As we celebrate the Eucharist, we pray in a very special way for our indigenous sisters and brothers, many of whom, if not all, suffer from poverty. May we hear God telling us, “If you thank me, think not so much of me but of your sisters and brothers who need you to take care of them. Remember them. For they are always in my thoughts.” When We Thank God, We Think of God

NAAMAN went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times at the word of Elisha, the man of God. His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean of his leprosy. Naaman returned with his whole retinue to the man of God. On his arrival he stood before Elisha and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel. Please accept a gift from your servant.” Elisha replied, “As the Lord lives whom I serve, I will not take it,” and despite Naaman’s urging, he still refused. Naaman said: “If you will not accept, please let me, your servant, have two mule-loads of earth, for I will no longer offer holocaust or sacrifice to any other god except to the LORD.” —The word of the Lord. All—Thanks be to God. Responsorial Psalm (Ps 98) R—The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power. 1. Sing to the LORD a new song,/ for he has done wondrous deeds;/ his right hand has won victory for him,/ his holy arm. (R) 2. The LORD has made his salvation known:/ in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice./ He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness/ toward the house of Israel. (R) 3. All the ends of the earth have seen/ the salvation by our God./ Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands:/ break into song; sing praise. (R) Second Reading (2 Tm 2:8–13) The apostle Paul says that the P—May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. All—Amen. P—Lord, have mercy. All—Lord, have mercy. P—Christ, have mercy. All—Christ, have mercy. P—Lord, have mercy. All—Lord, have mercy. Gloria All—Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will. We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you, we give you thanks for your great glory, Lord God, heavenly King, O God, almighty Father. Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son, Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us; you take away the sins of the world, receive our prayer; you are seated at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us. For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen. Collect P—Let us pray. (Pause) May your grace, O Lord, we pray, at all times go before us and follow after and make us always determined to carry out good works. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. All—Amen. First Reading (2 Kgs 5:14–17) (Sit) Naaman, a Syrian and a foreigner, is cured of leprosy and gratefully honors the God of Israel. He reminds us of the Samaritan leper in the Gospel. A reading from the Second Book of Kings Entrance Antiphon (Ps 130 [129]: 3–4) (Recited when there is no opening song) If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? But with you is found forgiveness, O God of Israel. Greeting (The sign of the cross is made here) P—Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. All—And with your spirit. Introduction (The priest addresses the assembly with these or other similar words) P—Today’s Gospel narrates the story of the ten lepers cured by Jesus. Only one—a Samaritan and therefore a stranger—returns to Jesus and gives thanks. Thus, to glorify God is to do it through Jesus. For it is through his Son Jesus that God chooses to save us. Today, too, is Indigenous Peoples’ Sunday and Extreme Poverty Day. We are reminded that the Lord is present in peoples who appear different from the majority. We may be surprised to know that the indigenous peoples and the poorest of the poor are rich in values regarding life and reverence to the Creator. Poverty and our indigenous brethren have much to teach us. Penitential Rite P—Brethren (brothers and sisters), let us acknowledge our sins, and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries. (Pause) All – I confess to almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have greatly sinned, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do, (strike your breast) through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault; therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin, all the Angels and Saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God. THE INTRODUCTORY RITES Liturgy of the word E. C. Marfori 4                         na tions his sa ving po wer. The Lord has re vealed to the Em Am Dm G C C F

P—Father, through, with, and in your Son, Jesus Christ, you enable us to give thanks to you, wholly and genuinely. Thus, with grateful hearts, we approach you in supplication as we say: R—Lord, grant us grateful hearts. C—May we, your Church, work together for your Kingdom, always and everywhere in gratitude to your grace that sustains. We pray: (R) C—Guide our national and local leaders so that they may work in gratitude to you. Help them realize that without you, everything they do or work for will be done in vain. We pray: (R) C—We lift up to you our brethren who belong to indigenous groups and those living in extreme poverty. Move our hearts for the good of these brothers and sisters so they too may be able to fully participate in the building up of your Kingdom. We pray: (R) C—Embrace those who have gone before us into eternal communion with you. We pray: (R) C—Let us pray for the urgent concerns of our community and our personal intentions (pause). We pray: (R) P—Direct, we beseech you, O Father, our heart, mind, and will so that we may become grateful workers of your Kingdom, through Christ our Lord. All—Amen. Presentation of the Gifts (Stand) P—Pray, brethren… All—May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands for the praise and glory of his name, for our good, and the good of all his holy Church. Prayer over the Offerings 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.” —The Gospel of the Lord. All—Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ. Homily (Sit) Profession of Faith (Stand) All—I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, (At the words that follow, up to and including and became man, all bow)and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary and became man. For our sake he wa s crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen. Prayer of the Faithful salvation brought about by the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus is the culmination of all God’s gifts.Gratitude prompts us to be loyal to Jesus to the end. A reading from the second Letter of Saint Paul to Timothy BELOVED: Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David: such is my gospel, for which I am suffering, even to the point of chains, like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained. Therefore, I bear with everything for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, together with eternal glory. This saying is trustworthy: If we have died with him we shall also live with him; if we persevere we shall also reign with him. But if we deny him he will deny us. If we are unfaithful he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself. —The word of the Lord. All—Thanks be to God. Alleluia (1 Thes 5:18) (Stand) All—Alleluia, alleluia. In all circumstances, give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel (Lk 17:11–19) P—The Lord be with you. All—And with your spirit. P—A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke. All—Glory to you, O Lord. 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 voices, 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 Liturgy of the eucharist

May almighty God always keep every adversity far from you and in his kindness pour out upon you the gifts of his blessing. All—Amen. P—May God keep your hearts attentive to his words, that they may be filled with everlasting gladness. All—Amen. P—And so, may you always understand what is good and right, and be found ever hastening along in the path of God’s commands, made coheirs with the citizens of heaven. All—Amen. P—And may the blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the Son (†), and the Holy Spirit, come upon you and remain with you for ever. All—Amen. Dismissal P—Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life. All—Thanks be to God. P—Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb. All—Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed. Communion Antiphon (Cf. Ps 34 [33]: 11) The rich suffer want and go hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no blessing. Prayer after Communion (Stand) P—Let us pray. (Pause) We entreat your majesty most humbly, O Lord, that, as you feed us with the nourishment which comes from the most holy Body and Blood of your Son, so you may make us sharers of his divine nature. Who lives and reigns for ever and ever. All—Amen. P—The Lord be with you. All—And with your spirit. Solemn Blessing P—Bow down for the blessing. (Pause) P—Accept, O Lord, the prayers of your faithful with the sacrificial offerings, that, through these acts of devotedness, we may pass over to the glory of heaven. Through Christ our Lord. All—Amen. Preface (Ordinary Time V) P—The Lord be with you. All—And with your spirit. P—Lift up your hearts. All—We lift them up to the Lord. P—Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. All—It is right and just. P—It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks, Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God. For you laid the foundations of the world and have arranged the changing of times and seasons; you formed man in your own image and set humanity over the whole world in all its wonder, to rule in your name over all you have made and for ever praise you in your mighty works, through Christ our Lord. And so, with all the Angels, we praise you, as in joyful celebration, we acclaim: All—Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts. Heaven and earth are full of your glory.Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. (Kneel) Acclamation (Stand) All—When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, we proclaim your Death, O Lord, until you come again. The Lord’s Prayer All—Our Father... P—Deliver us, Lord... All—For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and for ever. Invitation to Peace Invitation to Communion (Kneel) THE COMMUNION RITE THE CONCLUDING RITES BE A PRIEST OR A BROTHER OF MASS MEDIA. BE A PAULINE! Contact us: ssp.ph or stpauls.ph Tel: (02) 8895-9701