It is easy for us to forget how blessed we are these days, I think, with all that is going on in the world. Climate change issues, the mess in Washington, the continuing issues around immigration and health care, international trade wars, tension in the Middle East, all the struggles of the Church-- the list goes on. All big problems, to be sure. But today's gospel reminds us how lucky we are (Lk 10: 17-24). Jesus tells His disciples-- us-- that throughout history prophets and kings have wanted to see what we see, to hear what we hear. Think of the generations- -centuries-- before Christ, and the folks even today who do not have a chance to hear about Christ, and you can see what Jesus is saying. There have been, and are today, lots of people who simply don't know, and have not had a chance to know, the joy of the Gospel. We're different. We know God's love, and appreciate God's mercy. We have a sense of God's plan. We can see Jesus, and receive Him in the Eucharist. We might take a minute to remember how blessed we are, and be thankful for that. And we might remember that thankfulness is contageous. The more thankful we are, the more people around us are thankful, and the more we appreciate that our problems, difficult as they are, can be solved with God's help. Let's try to keep that in mind. We are blessed.