Memorial of St. Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church

Today's Mass Readings

Seminarians of Conception Seminary College are our daily reflection writers for the first half of November. Every day will feature a reflection from a different seminarian. This is an opportunity for our seminarians to put their education into practice and connect with the people of God in a pastoral way.

“Your faith has saved you.” These words of Jesus to the grateful leper ought to catch our attention. Surely, the other nine also had faith in the Lord after seeing that they were healed. What was different about this leper’s faith? Was it gratitude?

Perhaps it was gratitude, but I think it was rooted deeper than that. This leper put his life on hold to glorify God and give Him thanks. He was thinking of God, and his duties to the Lord, rather than of himself. He was submitting himself to the proper order of creation under the Creator. In a word, he was being humble.

But why is humility the manifestation of a faith that saves?

God has a plan to draw us to Himself. Every day, He aligns things and guides events so that we will be turned toward Him, but, if we are proud, we are blinded to this. Instead of seeing God’s blessings as gifts, we see them as restitution for our own merits. We forget God. And, if we forget God, we cannot be brought closer to Him. If we cannot be brought closer to Him, then we cannot enter into His Kingdom. This is why pride is the most dangerous of all sins. The proud man cannot be saved.

Ten were healed, but only one was humble and returned to be close to the Lord. Not all the saints were kind, not all of them were joyful, but every one of them was humble.

Reflection by Robert Blaschke, seminarian
Archdiocese of Oklahoma City