God’s Gifts

by Guest Contributor
2016-01-07


When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they?
Luke 17:14-17

Gratitude

Gratitude

Gratitude is the state of giving thanks. It is the condition of giving thanks for everything in life. The world is a gift from God! To be truly grateful, one has to be aware of their surroundings; it can begin with an act of spoken praise “Oh, thank you for carrying this heavy box for me!”, or “thank God for this wonderful weather!”. From there, evaluate the real impact of each event, just as God would unceasingly admire the beauty and goodness of His creation.

“Seek what is good for each other and all!” “Pray without ceasing!” (read 1 Thessalonians 5:15-19) These are calls for action and commitment, not merely words of acknowledgement. There’s an argument from Bishop Robert Barron (of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles), regarding “beige Catholicism”: if being Catholic is to only “be a nice person”, then why bother learning the faith? Why bother unpacking the intellectual and cultural heritage of the Catholic Church? In the same vein, if all that matters is appearing grateful on the surface, then all we’re left with is nice thoughts and words. How much more would it mean, if we unpack the meaning behind a friend spending time with you, participation in a party, being able to reflect after seeing someone’s kind gesture towards a homeless person on the way home, or even the meaning of your own encouraging words to a tired cashier near the end of a work day? How often do we miss the Lord’s work in our lives and fail to show true gratitude! How much more meaning would we find in life if we paid more attention!

Though Christmas day is past, we’re still in the Christmas season, liturgically-speaking. So we encourage you to continue visiting Christmas.fll.cc as a source of inspiration and spiritual nourishment. It can even be used to inform your New Year’s resolution!

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