“Let the whole earth keep holiday in God’s honor; pay to the Lord the homage of your rejoicing, appear in his presence with glad hearts. Learn that it is the Lord, no other, who is God; his we are, he it was that made us; we are his own people, sheep of his own pasturing. Pass through these gates, enter these courts of his, with hymns of praise, give him thanks, and bless his name. Gracious is the Lord, everlasting his mercy; age after age, he is faithful to his promise still.” (Psalm 100)
It was He that made us.
Did I cause myself to be born? No. Did my parents cause me to be born? Yes, but only because their parents caused them to be born, and because their parents caused them to be born — and so on and so forth, all the way back to the First Cause, God.
As a child, I didn’t always appreciate all the things my parents did for me: feeding me, clothing me, putting a roof over my head, educating me, building my character, encouraging and giving me opportunities to make full use of my talents, praising me when I did good, and forgiving me when I did bad.
Now I feel regret about my lack of gratitude. It must have made my parents very sad to see so much labor and love taken for granted, so many sacrifices returned with selfishness. If it feels wrong to be ungrateful to my parents, how much worse is it to be ungrateful to God?
Gratitude is a virtue easy to overlook. Even when delivered from a crisis, we easily forget to be grateful: we recall that only one of the 10 lepers healed by Jesus came back to say thanks.
Expressing gratitude is more than just good form. In fact, expressing gratitude simply to be polite is not gratitude at all. Gratitude must come from the heart. It must be sincere.
I have learned, better late than never, that a spirit of gratitude is well worth the effort to cultivate. It makes me feel good to say thank you. It makes me feel good to know my sincere expression of thanks makes someone else feel better, even if it’s just a little bit. One year for Lent, I decided to make gratitude the “theme.” I made a real point of being grateful for and heartily expressing gratitude to all the people who served me in restaurants, stores, healthcare settings — anywhere. And I’ll tell you, it was one of the most satisfying things I ever did. People’s eyes would light up with a simple “thank you.” Sometimes it was sad, in a way, because I could tell by their surprised and appreciative response that some of these people seldom if ever heard those words at work. What a shame that is!
We all know that bad habits are addictive. But good habits are addictive, too. Saints are addicted to prayer. Prayers of thanksgiving are among the best and most satisfying. I thank God for giving me the ability and inclination to be thankful.
Reflection
What am I grateful for today, and how can I express it?
