The one who returned recognized more than healing — he saw communion restored.
MEDITATIO — The Word Resonates
Under the black walnut tree, golden leaves cover the ground — a living mosaic of what has fallen yet still shines.
So too the Church: broken in history, yet still radiant in Christ.
“Fix You” by Coldplay fits this Lectio Divina because it captures the ache and hope of healing that runs through both the Gospel and the life of Saint Josaphat. Just as Jesus restores the lepers and Josaphat works to mend the torn fabric of the Church, the song’s refrain — “Lights will guide you home” — mirrors the divine mercy that calls each of us back into communion, gratitude, and wholeness. It’s a modern echo of God’s tender desire to “fix” what is broken within and among us.
Saint Josaphat, born in Orthodoxy, entered into communion with Rome not by rejecting his roots but by bringing their beauty into the Body of Christ. Like the Samaritan leper, he returned — and in returning, healed a wound.
“Those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen”
Lord, give me the heart of Josaphat: to see unity as Your will, to return in gratitude for every healing You begin, and to glorify You not in triumph but in reconciliation.
CONTEMPLATIO — Resting in the Word
Fallen leaves, reconciled in color — gold, rust, crimson — become one in the soil again. So may we, in our differences, nourish the roots of Your Church.
ACTIO — I Live It
Like in The Hundred-Foot Journey, grace begins when we cross the distance between us. The Samaritan returned. Josaphat reconciled. Both found healing in gratitude, not pride. True communion isn’t about winning— it’s about walking toward one another, one thank-you at a time.
“One expression of this attitude is when we stop and give thanks to God before and after meals. I ask all believers to return to this beautiful and meaningful custom. That moment of blessing, however brief, reminds us of our dependence on God for life; it strengthens our feeling of gratitude for the gifts of creation; it acknowledges those who by their labours provide us with these goods; and it reaffirms our solidarity with those in greatest need.”
Today, I will let gratitude become my bridge. I will seek out one person or situation where division lingers and choose to respond with mercy instead of judgment. Like the healed Samaritan—and like Saint Josaphat—I will return to Christ in thanksgiving and work to mend what has been torn, beginning in my own heart.
