Today is the 12th Sunday of Luke or otherwise known as the Sunday of the Ten Lepers. The Gospel lesson comes to us from Luke 17:12-19 and it teaches us about the importance of gratitude to the spiritual life. Father Paul shares with us that gratitude is not an option but rather a prerogative mandated by Jesus Himself when He asks the leper who gave thanks for his healing, " Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?" Gratitude is a cornerstone to the spiritual life and indeed each of us as Orthodox Christians are called to be thankful for our lives because it is proper and right.