An Attitude of Gratitude.

Deacon Tom Writes,

An Attitude of Gratitude

Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

When is the last time you gave yourself permission to sit down and reflect upon all the good things that God has given you? I know, there’s just not enough time in the day. It seems that we are all stuck in overdrive, racing from one commitment or obligation to another. If we can just” be still”, set aside some quiet time each day to think about the many ways we have been blessed, we may experience yet another gift ….a profound sense of gratitude toward God from whom all good things come.

Gratitude comes from the Latin gratitudo or gratus meaning “thankful”. It is related to the family of words that express the sense of “favor”, “grace”, or “gift”. Thanksgiving is an active response to another’s favor or gift and it implies a desire to respond graciously to our benefactor. How fitting is this attitude especially when it is directed to God, the giver of all gifts.

The gifts of a loving and caring family, good health, long and enduring friendships, painful failures that have changed the paths of our lives for the better, or hearing the whisper of the breeze and seeing the playful smile of a little child or the tender love in the eyes of an elderly person. These countless blessings that are always before us should fill us with awe at just how great the Father’s loves is for us.

Here is an easy family exercise to help us increase our awareness of the things we have to be grateful for each and every day:

 

·  Have everyone in the family recall their experiences throughout the day.

·  Write them down in a journal every evening and discuss them at dinner.

·  On day three, write down how our sense of gratitude has increased by this exercise and how we may continue to be thankful for each and every blessing that comes our way.

I know you will have a long list, but that will only be the beginning. Soon our sense of gratitude will start to grow as we begin to count our blessings one by one, as if we were picking a bouquet of beautiful wild flowers. The more we recognize the blessings we have received, the easier it will be for us to recognize many others we were not aware of previously. Gratitude is a gift that keeps on giving; the more grateful we are, the more we will be thankful for all that comes to us from the hand of God, who enjoys hearing our thanks and gratitude.

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom