Today
is the 24th death anniversary of Fr. Jose Bosch, SDB. He was Parish
Priest of Lourdes in 1964-1966 and again in 1971-1983. When he succeeded Fr.
John Peter Clifford as Parish Priest, he immediately set about building a
bigger Church to accommodate the expanding parish. This massive structure which
we have now took almost 20 years to build and was blest by his Eminence
Cardinal Julio Rosales, DD on February 14, 1982.
Born
in Ciutadella, Menorca-Baleares Islands Spain on March 27, 1921, Fr. Jose
attended St. Francis de Sales School for his elementary studies where he first
encountered the Salesian Fr. Gustavo Mas. “Since that day until now I have been
with Don Bosco,” he would recall. Ordained a priest on June 24, 1951 at the
Sacred Heart Temple in Tibidabo, Barcelona, he applied for the missions and
came to the Philippines on March 2, 1956. One of his qualities was his
gratitude. He was always grateful to God for his life and many blessings
especially for being a priest. His daily prayer was: “Jesus daily preserve and
increase my love for my Salesian vocation.” He was grateful to people and his
proverbial words were: Daghang Salamat!
Our
Sunday Gospel is about gratitude. Ten lepers implored the mercy of Jesus. They
actually did not ask for healing but for “pity” for whatever Jesus can give
them; whatever he decides to offer. But Jesus decided to give them the best for
them – healing! Yet only the Samaritan came back to thank Jesus. He came back
glorifying God in a loud voice. He throws himself at Jesus’ feet showing his
humility and credits him for being an instrument of his healing. How often do
we loudly clamor for our request but muffled in our thanksgiving? Clearly,
Jesus expects us to be grateful. As disciples of Jesus, we won’t be pleasing to
Jesus without being thankful. Though we may have a small heart, it can always
hold such a large amount of gratitude. It pays so little to say “Daghang
Salamat” with great love and sincerity.
Prayer:
Lord, make my heart overflow with love so that I may be grateful for what you
have done for me. Amen.
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