“Thanks-Giving:”
By Fr. Adam Laski
“How can I make a return the Lord, for all the good he has done for me? The cup of salvation I will take up and I will call upon the name of the Lord. (Psalm 116:12)
A lack of gratitude. We might not thank God for things because we take certain things for granted (like the created world, my efforts or strength, or the life I’ve built for myself). Why would I thank God for something that seems to come from my strength? Is it worth saying “thank you” for?
Gratitude for Everything:
Gratitude isn’t just making a list of already obvious things to thank God for. It seems sometimes that we can’t make a response to the great good God who has given us everything. If we see Jesus as the author of every grace, the cause of creation, and the one who holds all beings in existence, then every good thing (no matter how inconsequential) is from God. We might feel like we shouldn’t take time to say thanks for all the little things because they aren’t so consequential as all the other stuff.
There are deeper things we might want to thank God for: his Son Jesus, the salvation of sinners, or the giving of the graces we need to be holy. So many saints, from the earliest moments of the Church until now, felt an impetus to say “Thank you” to God for all the great gifts he has given. Not only once a year, but at all times. We pray in Eucharistic Prayer III: “…so that from the rising of the sun to its setting a pure sacrifice is offered to your name.” That is, we want our thanksgiving to happen at every moment (for all time) and in each place Christians are (to be in every place).
May our thanksgiving never cease.