e are a Roman Catholic community of believers in Jesus Christ in Lincoln Park and surrounding areas, located in the Diocese of Paterson, New Jersey. Our Bishop is Bishop Arthur Serratelli. Please feel free to visit the pages of our Parish site, learn about who we are as a community of faith and the services our parish provides. If you are thinking about moving to the Lincoln Park area, we cordially invite you to make St. Joseph's your parish.
In today’s Gospel Lk 17:11-19, we hear how Jesus, continuing on his journey to Jerusalem, heals ten lepers. This story is a lesson about faith and reminds us that faith is sometimes found in unlikely places. Ten people afflicted with leprosy cry out to Jesus. In the time of Jesus, lepers were outcasts and for Jesus to interact with them was potentially a gesture of ritual contamination. The power of the Kingdom was at work and Jesus broke through the boundaries of his society.
And the story tells of another boundary that was crossed. All ten of the lepers were given the gift of healing, but in his gratitude to God for this gift, the Samaritan found salvation. The Samaritan, a foreigner, was from a community shunned by Jesus’ own people. In the Jewish circles in which Jesus lived, Samaritans were looked down upon because of the differences between the two communities in their observance of Judaism. In bridging this vast divide of discrimination, Jesus can affirm both the Samaritan’s healing and his faith.
Where have we become alienated from Christ and the Kingdom? Whom do we shun because of racial, religious, ethnic or other cultural differences? May we trust in the power of the Kingdom at work. And may we asked for the faith to be led into the midst of our society’s conflicts and contradictions to be part of God’s healing work.
Another lesson for us in this Gospel has to do with salvation. Our salvation is found in recognizing and using the gifts we have been given and knowing to whom we must offer our thanks.
