Don Bosco Philippines South Province

Homily on the 28th Sunday in OT; 12 Oct 2025, FSpIF Chapel, Talamban

Several days ago, in the long and heavy traffic building up along the highway going to Northern Cebu, something unusual and remarkably unique happened . It was not a vehicular accident as some of you might think. No, it was rather a gentle collision of concerned citizens and good-hearted people. Certain residents who were also earthquake victims, began to offer free coffee, bibingka, boiled eggs and banana que to donors and volunteers who braved six to ten hours of traffic just to bring relief goods to quake-hit towns. According to a Sunstar respondent, some residents even offered free champorado and packs of fruits, while others opened their homes and offered the use of their restrooms while holding placards expressing gratitude.

This is truly amazing and awe-inspiring, isn’t? Not only were the highways suddenly clogged with countless vehicles loaded with sacks and boxes of relief goods from kind-hearted people, also the homes along the highway suddenly overflowed with food/drinks-to-go feely given by equally kind-hearted people. Kind-hearted people know how to recognize and appreciate the goodness of other kind-hearted people.

We are now on the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time. The gospel passage of today (Lk 17:11-19) presents to us an episode in the ministry of Jesus, in which ten lepers were instantaneously healed while they were on their way to the temple following the command of the Lord.

Those ten lepers were considered outcasts due to the disease that made them unclean. That is why they were staying outside the village. But even then, they must have overheard many things about Jesus from the rumours that travellers and passersby were talking about. And so, when they recognized Jesus passing by, they called out to him from a distance, shouting out “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us.”

When Jesus heard their voices and saw them, he must have been moved to compassion from the heart. And so without delay he virtually stretched out his healing power towards them and told them to go to Jerusalem and show themselves to the priests who had the sole authority to declare them totally clean and free from leprosy. The good news is that it was actually along the way that they felt and realized they were made clean by Jesus. But here is the twist. Only one of them bothered to stop and return to where Jesus was. And he was not even a fellow Jew, but a Samaritan. Glorifying God this man fell at the feet of Jesus expressing how grateful he was for having been cured of his disease.

What could God be telling us today through this story? Allow me to share with you just two insights.

Firstly, God does not exclude anyone from his work of salvation. This was manifested clearly in the all-inclusive ministry of Jesus who showed kindness not only to his fellow Jews, but to everyone including those who were discriminated against for whatever reason and are found only in the fringes of society. This was in fact already manifested in the Old Testament story of the Syrian leper named Naaman who was healed by bathing in the Jordan River following the advice of the prophet Elisha (cfr. 2 Kings 5:14-17). This is what we have heard in the first reading today.

Secondly, while God in his kind, caring and compassionate love does not exclude anyone in his plan of salvation, on the other hand some people may not always be as thoughtfully concerned and sincerely grateful as we expect them to be. At times, acts of kindness and tokens of gratitude come from even the very ones we least expect. Even Jesus felt disappointed at the ungratefulness of the nine lepers, his fellow Jews, to whom he granted total healing. Nevertheless he affirmed the only Samaritan who alone returned unexpectedly to give thanks to him and praise God with great joy.

Kind-hearted people easily recognize the goodness of other kind-hearted people. As they say, it takes one to know one.

This was in fact shown also in the overwhelming gratitude of Naaman to the prophet Elisha by whose kindness and compassion he had been totally healed of his leprosy. And not only that, the Syrian pilgrim also expressed willingness to convert to the religion of Elisha, and to thank and praise the same powerful God that granted him healing. He said “Please let me, your servant, have two mule-loads of earth, for I will no longer offer holocaust or sacrifice to any other god except to the Lord.” We recall that Naaman in his arrogance was at first refusing to immerse himself in the murky waters of the Jordan River. But such arrogance was soon conquered by the gentle loving kindness of the prophet Elisha who became the channel and bearer of God’s healing grace. There are times really that one’s kindness can break down the walls of another one’s arrogance.

Today October 12 is the memorial of St. Carlo Acutis, who was canonized by Pope Leo XIV only last September 7 along with another youth named St Pier Giorgio Frassati.

St. Carlo Acutis was only 15 years old when he died of Leukemia. But from the day that he received his first Holy Communion, out of gratitude and love, he promised to serve the Lord faithfully and live a life always pleasing to the Lord. So, from then on, he never failed to attend daily Masses and to pray the Holy Rosary everyday. Moreover, as he grew up just like his peers, he also spent time doing what he loved to do, such as playing soccer, dancing, video gaming and engaging with friends through social media, but always in moderation following his parents’ advice.

Above all, what really made him different from all the rest was his amazing love for Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, which he expressed by spreading such devotion through social media. In fact he made his own blog or website where he would post various Eucharistic miracles that took place throughout history, wishing that many more people would be inspired and fall in love with Jesus, really present in the most Blessed Sacrament. And amazingly, among the first ones, whom he was able to convert, was his very own dear mother, who last Sept 7 came to attend his canonization in St Peter’s Square. Carlo’s passionate love for Jesus was able to win over his own mother’s heart for Jesus.

St Carlo Acutis has shown to the whole world that young people even in our times are very capable of becoming saints. Young people today, in spite of the many temptations and distractions of the world, are able to reach that level of maturity as to make them say, “GOD has PRIMACY over everyone else and everything else in my life.” And for this reason they deliberately choose to do good and to live a joyful life always pleasing to the Lord. Look around you… some of them are actually here among us right now.

May these beautiful stories we have heard today inspire us to love Jesus above all and to visit him always in the Blessed Sacrament with grateful hearts, praying that soon we may be numbered among the countless saints in heaven. And by the power of God’s love may many more kind-hearted people not only in Cebu collide together to form a communion of charities in Christ capable of overcoming the corruption of sin and of healing the wounds of our broken world. GiGsss!

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