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."
Luke 17:15-19

Reflection:
As a kid we were taught to be polite, to say thank you for anything that was given or done for us. Someone opens a door and I say thank you. It has become a wonderful habit that is not often seen in society today. Hold a door open for someone and you might get a gruff grumble, some might reply with a gracious thank you. It's nice to say thank you and to hear it when we do something nice for another. This is our everyday life.

I went beyond that step and throughout my life I thanked God for anything that was given or done for me, no matter how small or insignificant it was. I was reminded of today's reading, how when Jesus healed nine, but only one gave glory to God for his healing. How in our lives as I wrote a moment ago, some are gruff and often grumble about saying thank you. It's not hard to say. But all too often we overlook thanking God for many of the gifts he gives to us each day.

It's not always the obvious things that we thank him for either. It could be something as simple as a hug, without realizing it was given when we needed it most. Thank God for the hug and the person he sent to give it.

Our lives are touched by many people who are there by the grace of God, thank him for the smallest littlest thing. When we go about our day, take a moment to thank him for your heart, because it is beating with his. Tomorrow thank him for something new, but thank him don't forget.

And on that note I almost forgot, the best place of all to thank him is at his feet where we find him in the Tabernacle, or in Adoration. If any out there have not done so, please try to go and thank him in this way most of all for a life given to you. I wouldn't be surprised if he just might touch your heads with his outstretched hands.

Titus 2:1-8, 11-14

Reflection:
Titus makes a good point, we should be living our lives consistent with sound doctrine. Those who have gone through life should be able to guide those who are just beginning with theirs.

Have we lived our life with sound doctrine behind us? Did we follow it? Or do we go around telling dirty jokes. Or bed hopping just because the raging hormones in our bodies speak louder than our consciences. Do we go around lying, cheating, stealing? If we have, then we are not living sound doctrine and that places us in the way of being poor teachers of life. As we have children and live this way, we end up teaching them this too.

Is this what we truly want for our children, to bed hop, get diseases that have no cure, and die. Do we teach our children to speak in a way that is suggestive. Parents are the teachers of their children, their behaviors are a result of their upbringing. When a child is brought up with sound doctrine from a parent who has taken the time and faith to teach them, they have been given a good way of life. A life that is pleasing to God. And to think that Titus had said "that cannot be criticized, so that the opponent will be put to shame without anything bad to say about us."

It's too bad that there are so many that are criticized all because they did not have good teachers behind them; teaching them sound doctrine from those who have a solid foundation in faith. Unfortunately it seems as if our world is going in the direction of lost sound doctrine rather than being taught by parents with good morals behind them. Parents reclaim your faith, teach your children the values of life according to God. You just might change the world.