"Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine?"

My brothers and sisters…

"It is the duty of nations as well as of men to accept their dependence upon the overruling power of God; to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Sacred Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations are blessed whose God is the Lord.

We know that by His divine law, nations, like individuals, are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this world. May we not justly fear that the awful calamity of war which now desolates the land may be a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins, to the NEEDFUL end of our national REFORMATION as a whole people?

We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown.

But WE have FORGOTTEN God. We have FORGOTTEN the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace; too proud to pray to the God that made us.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that God should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November as a day of Thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwells in the heavens."

Thus wrote Abraham Lincoln - October 3, 1863

That reads as if it were written for today. Oh…this gets better…

"Whereas, It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the Providence of Almighty God, to obey his Will, to be grateful for his Benefits, and humbly to implore his Protection and Favor: And whereas both houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me "To recommend to the People of the UNITED STATES, a Day of PUBLIC THANKSGIVING and PRAYER (oh…God forbid we pray in public), to be observed by acknowledging with grateful Hearts the many Signal Favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a Form of Government for their Safety and Happiness" Now, THEREFORE, I do recommend and assign THURSDAY the twenty-sixth Day of November next, to be devoted by the People of these States, to the Service of the great and glorious God, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is or that will be: …"

Thus wrote George Washington in 1789.

My brothers and sisters. These two addresses are a far cry from the revisionist picture the "Separation of Church and State" activists have attempted to paint over the last 50 years. In fact, according to these people, both George Washington and Abraham Lincoln would be guilty of violating the Constitution, which is a preposterous notion.

These activists and their supporters first took God out of school by eliminating Prayer in school. Now they want it out of the Pledge of Allegiance. They're removing any monuments or plaques or documents displaying the Ten Commandments. They're simultaneously pushing to have any scripture verses removed from public buildings. I shudder to think, what will be next.

I mention this today for one reason only. Society and culture exert a coercive force, for better or worse, against or with our individual wills. In other words, we have a tendency to become products of our environment. That said, it's easy to understand why so many people today hardly ever think about God, pray to God, or remember to thank God for anything.

We have the tendency to be just like the nine lepers. After one returns to give glory to God for His merciful healing, Jesus says, "Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine?"

Even if we are not like the nine, many of us have the tendency to be gracious only for those things we have that are comparatively greater or better than others. It's easy to be thankful for those kinds of benefits. A roof over our heads, food on the table, a good job, our health, etc. It's much harder to be thankful for things when we are bearing crosses. Yet we must see in these crosses a blessing as well. This is the true mark of gratefulness. I received the following in an email once. Let me share it with you.

Am I thankful for the mess to clean up after a party? because it means I have been surrounded by friends.

Am I thankful for the taxes I pay? because it means that I am employed.

Am I thankful for the clothes that fit a little too snug? because it means I have had plenty to eat.

Am I thankful for a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning, gutters that need fixing? because it means I have a home to live in.

Am I thankful for the government I complain about? because it means I have freedom of speech.

Am I thankful for the spot I find at the far end of the parking lot? because it means I am capable of walking.

Am I thankful for my big heating bill? because it means I am warm.

(I love this one. No one look around! Don't turn behind you for this.)

Am I thankful for the lady or gentleman behind me in church who sings off-key? because it means I can hear.

Am I thankful for the piles of laundry and ironing I must do? because it means my loved-ones are nearby.

Am I thankful for weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day? because it means I have been productive.

Am I thankful for the alarm clock that goes off early in the morning? because it means I am alive.

...and I'm sure you can add many more like these.

We have so much to thank God for, my brothers and sisters.

On behalf of Fr. Ray and myself, I wish all of you and your families a very blessed holiday.

Let today's festivities be a reminder to us all that we should always and everywhere praise God from whom all blessings flow.

"Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine?"