I think that everyone encounters or experiences grace. Our reality is suffused with moments in which God's goodness and love are manifested. They re so common that our tendency can be to pick and amplify, even, the moments of sin and evil. In the first reading and gospel for today we hear of two experiences of healing. Naaman and the healed Samaritan leper not only receive physical healing but also have the ability to understand the implications of their healing for how they relate to God. Naaman states: "... for your servant will no longer offer burnt offerings or sacrifice to any god except the Lord." (2 Kgs 5: 17) The Samaritan leper: "... turned back, praising God with loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus' feet nd thanked him" (Lk 17: 15-16) The question for us is whether we choose, like those two, to give thanks to God and testify to his mercy or like the nine Jewish lepers simply keep on walking: "Then Jesus asked, 'Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?' " (Lk 17: 17-18)
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