Tearing Down the Dividing Wall

Today, the Church celebrates the Memorial of St. Josaphat, a bishop and martyr who gave his life for the unity of the Church — a unity founded in Christ Himself, who “is our peace, He who made both one and broke down the dividing wall of enmity through His flesh” (Eph 2:14).

In today’s Gospel, we encounter the ten lepers who call out to Jesus from a distance. Only one returns to give thanks — a Samaritan, a foreigner. Yet it is this “outsider” who draws near, falls at Christ’s feet, and glorifies God. His gratitude becomes worship. The Greek word used here is eucharisteo — to give thanks — the same root of our word Eucharist. In that moment, the healed man “Eucharisted” Jesus, showing us that true thanksgiving is communion with God Himself.

Fr. Tyler reflects on how this healing foreshadows what Christ accomplishes in the Eucharist: God drawing near to the outcast, uniting what was divided, and restoring communion through His Body and Blood. Just as the Samaritan crossed the barrier between distance and intimacy, Christ crosses the infinite divide between heaven and earth, destroying the walls that sin has built.

St. Josaphat lived this mystery to the end. In a time of bitter division between East and West, he longed for the unity of all Christians under the successor of Peter. For this, he was martyred — his blood becoming the seed of reconciliation. His life echoes the very prayer of Christ in John 17: “That they may all be one, as You, Father, are in Me and I in You.”

Let us pray today that, like St. Josaphat, we may become instruments of unity — people who heal, reconcile, and draw others toward the Eucharist, where all division is destroyed and all hearts are made one in Christ.