Thursday, November 26, 2026 — Thanksgiving Day
Only one returned to give thanks
Luke 17:11-19
Readings of the day: Sirach 50:22-24; Psalm 145:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9, 10-11; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Luke 17:11-19.
The Gospel
On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus meets ten lepers who call out for mercy. He tells them to show themselves to the priests, and as they go they are cleansed. Only one of them, a Samaritan, turns back, praising God aloud, and falls at Jesus’ feet to thank him. “Were not ten cleansed?” Jesus asks. “Where are the other nine?” Then he says to the Samaritan, “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.”
Reflection
Ten were cleansed, and only one came back. The nine were not ungrateful in the sense of refusing a gift; they simply went on their way and forgot the Giver. “If faith made him whole, who hurried himself back to give thanks,” says St. Bede, “therefore does unbelief destroy those who have neglected to give glory to God for mercies received.” Thanksgiving is not an extra, added after the blessing; it is the completion of the blessing, the return that makes the gift whole. On this day of thanksgiving, the Samaritan shows us the way home: stop, turn back, fall at the feet of Jesus, and give thanks aloud.
From the Fathers
“They therefore stand afar off as if ashamed of the uncleanness which was imputed to them, thinking that Christ would loathe them as others did. Thus they stood afar off, but were made nigh unto Him by their prayers. For the Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him in truth.”
— Theophylact of Ohrid, in the Catena Aurea on Luke 17:11–19
“But if faith made him whole, who hurried himself back to give thanks, therefore does unbelief destroy those who have neglected to give glory to God for mercies received.”
— St. Bede the Venerable, in the Catena Aurea on Luke 17:11–19
Saint of the day
Saint Leonard of Port Maurice (1676–1751), Franciscan priest and missionary. He preached missions throughout Italy and Corsica, promoted devotion to the Way of the Cross, and set up the Stations of the Cross in more than 500 places, including the Colosseum. He died in Rome on November 26, 1751. The Roman Martyrology also commemorates today St. Sylvester, Abbot.
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Sources: the day’s readings follow the Thanksgiving Day lectionary (USCCB, Lectionary 943–947). The weekday readings for this Thursday are Revelation 18:1-2, 21-23; 19:1-3, 9a; Psalm 100:1b-2, 3, 4, 5; Luke 21:20-28 (Lectionary 506). The Gospel text is not reproduced here; read it at the link above. Patristic quotes: Catena Aurea on Luke 17:11–19, compiled by St. Thomas Aquinas, translated by John Henry Newman (1841, public domain).