Gratitude!
I was thinking about it on Saturday while we celebrated 250 years of this great country. And how grateful I was to see all the enjoyment of the day with family and friends. What a blessing going in the pool with our little two-year-old grandson who sat on the steps and splashed with glee. What joy! What laughter! O beautiful for summer skies and little toddlers' feet!
Gratitude!
Cicero called it the parent of all the other virtues. And that makes sense. Gratitude requires a big dose of humility. It requires recognizing that we need others, God first, but then many others. How many of us could get along without teachers, coaches mentors, but most especially our shepherds. They deserve thanks. How often do we tell them?
Indeed, how many times am I ungrateful? How many times do I complain over the little challenges of life, like a traffic jam that invites me to be patient or a slight wound or insulting word that could remind me of what Jesus suffered in His passion. How dare I complain instead of saying thank you for an opportunity to unite my insignificant suffering to Christ's ordeal. I could be pouring my challenges into the cup the angel brought Christ in the garden to relieve Him. How many times do I waste it and turn the wine of consolation into water and pour it into the cesspool of self-pity.
Today I will try to see everything that happens, pleasurable or painful, as God's Holy Will even the unjust and error-filled accusation of being in schism and excommunicated.
May Jesus Christ be praised....and thanked...now and forever!
Cicero called it the parent of all the other virtues. And that makes sense. Gratitude requires a big dose of humility. It requires recognizing that we need others, God first, but then many others. How many of us could get along without teachers, coaches mentors, but most especially our shepherds. They deserve thanks. How often do we tell them?
Cicero wasn't a Christian, but like Aristotle whose wisdom was recognized by St. Thomas Aquinas, he had much to teach us about gratitude. Are we as smart as a pagan philosopher? Hippocrates also comes to mind with his ethical admonitions to healers. He may not have said "First do no harm," but his oath demonstrated it.
And to whom do all of us owe gratitude without measure? Almighty God, of course. We owe him gratitude for everything and respond by submitting to his will in all things because all is for our good. Not just the happy events, but every single thing: good weather, bad weather, a great garden crop, the groundhog that eats up the crop, a good bee season, a hive devoured by wax moth. Nothing "just happens;" it all comes from the hand of a good God who knows exactly what we need to grow in virtue.
How grateful am I? How grateful are you? That's certainly an important question to ponder. In The Life and Glories of Saint Joseph, we come across this humbling entry:
And to whom do all of us owe gratitude without measure? Almighty God, of course. We owe him gratitude for everything and respond by submitting to his will in all things because all is for our good. Not just the happy events, but every single thing: good weather, bad weather, a great garden crop, the groundhog that eats up the crop, a good bee season, a hive devoured by wax moth. Nothing "just happens;" it all comes from the hand of a good God who knows exactly what we need to grow in virtue.
How grateful am I? How grateful are you? That's certainly an important question to ponder. In The Life and Glories of Saint Joseph, we come across this humbling entry:
It belongs to noble and generous hearts to feel gratitude, and the more noble and generous they are the more lively is that gratitude. Great souls are tenderly thankful even for small services, while little and mean souls overlook the greatest.Ouch! How often I have been guilty of ingratitude, taking the kindness of others with an attitude of indifference?
Indeed, how many times am I ungrateful? How many times do I complain over the little challenges of life, like a traffic jam that invites me to be patient or a slight wound or insulting word that could remind me of what Jesus suffered in His passion. How dare I complain instead of saying thank you for an opportunity to unite my insignificant suffering to Christ's ordeal. I could be pouring my challenges into the cup the angel brought Christ in the garden to relieve Him. How many times do I waste it and turn the wine of consolation into water and pour it into the cesspool of self-pity.
Today I will try to see everything that happens, pleasurable or painful, as God's Holy Will even the unjust and error-filled accusation of being in schism and excommunicated.
I say thank you for it because it is God's Providence and He is bringing good out of its evil.
When I examine my conscience tonight, I'll see how well I did. I'm especially grateful today for my sister visiting while my husband is on retreat. We will pray the rosary together remembering all the men doing the spiritual exorcises at St. Thomas Seminary in Dillwyn. How grateful I am for our pastor and another wonderful priest of the Society whom we often see at the chapel who will be leading the retrea. What a gift they are to us! And I'm grateful to be scheduled for the women's retreat later this month. What a gift to have five full days to express gratitude to God unceasingly.
I know I fail often to be grateful. But I will try to remember when that happens to thank God for reminding me how little good I can do on my own and how dependent I am for His help.
May Jesus Christ be praised....and thanked...now and forever!
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