During his homily last Sunday, His Grace Bishop Ignatie of Huși spoke about the attitude of those who consider that they deserve everything they receive from others, becoming indifferent to the sacrifice or effort made for them.
Reflecting on the healing of the ten lepers, Bishop Ignatie said that “in despair and hopelessness, when man sees his own limitations, he humbles himself, obviously and naturally, he can humble himself to obtain what he wants most.”
“When a man gets what he wants, humility, lowliness and gratitude disappear,” the bishop noted, “because man is already in possession of what he wanted most.”
The Bishop of Huși remembered that we can find ourselves in the same situation as the nine lepers who didn’t return to thank the Saviour for their healing.
“When we want to get something with a lot of ardour, we humble ourselves, precisely in the idea of receiving what the soul wants so much. Then, when we see ourselves with our wishes fulfilled, we no longer turn towards our benefactors. We do not stay close to them, thanking them and being grateful, because, somewhere, deep in our consciousness, we believe that we deserve that gift.”
“When we receive gifts and believe that they are due to us, we no longer need gratitude or humility,” Bishop Ignatie said on January 15.
“We can check a man’s character by the way he relates to his benefactors, by the way, he knows how to be close to them, in any kind of circumstance, even if these benefactors end up, at a given moment, becoming the reproach of the world.”
“The man who knows that he has benefited from someone’s love stays by the side of the one who helped him when he needed it the most. But, unfortunately, many of us fail this test of our character.”
“Many people betray their benefactors, slander them and smear their identity, as if they never brought light and hope into their lives. They renounce them, repudiate them from their lives, as if they didn’t even exist,” Bishop Ignatie lamented.
The Bishop of Huși urged the faithful to “follow the example of the Samaritan, who knew how to turn to his Benefactor and thank Him, express his joy and, above all, tell God that he did not deserve the gift of healing.”
“May the Lord protect us from entitlement and fill our hearts with gratitude and much thanksgiving,” His Grace Bishop Ignatie said, ending his sermon.
Photography courtesy of the Diocese of Husi
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