Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,
Today, the first reading, from the Second Book of Kings, speaks about Naaman the Syrian. This is a beautiful reading that all of us need to remember because it is a wonderful teaching about our relationship with God. We are not given the full reading today, but just part of the culmination. When Naaman has already been cured of his leprosy and wants to thank the Prophet Elisha, Elisha refuses the gift because only God can be thanked for the miracle of cure from leprosy and it is God the Almighty who healed and not 
Prophet. Thus, it is very much appreciated by God to thank and worship Him alone for all the blessings that we received from Him (Jesus Christ). The second reading, which is taken from the Second Letter of Timothy, tells us that we should remember the Lord and respond to the Lord. The Lord is faithful even when we are faithless. In order to do this, we must take the time to reflect on the Lord and His presence in our lives.
The Gospel according to Saint Luke reminds us that we often ought to be grateful for the healings and blessings that we have experienced and obtained from our merciful and loving Jesus. Perhaps as we advance in age, we tend to forget to acknowledge his presence in our lives and recogniSe the wonders that God done in our lives. We can look back over our lives and see that God has often saved us from the results of our own sinfulness through the sacrament of Confession and other sacraments. If we take time to see the Lord’s work, then we can also take time to give thanks to the Lord. How our lives can change, when we become people who are grateful every moment. How our lives change when we take the time to reflect on the Lord’s work in our lives!
So over and over today in our readings, we are invited to take time to reflect on the presence of God in our lives. We are invited to take time to know Lord Jesus and His effect in our lives. We are invited to take time to know the steadfast love of the Lord for us and to give glory and thanks for the Lord’s Goodness and Mercy.