Week 4: Thankfulness/Gratitude
“The unthankful heart discovers no mercies, but the thankful heart will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings.” - Henry Ward Beecher
When we recognise
and are thankful for all the blessings in our lives, we are drawn nearer to God. The Bible teaches us many things about gratitude and being thankful. Even in challenging times, we are called to be grateful and praise God. “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
(1 Thes 5:16-18)
Learning to be thankful and to find good in
all things helps us to be positive in even the toughest situations. It is easy to show gratitude when things are going well but less so when we are faced with challenges. Paradoxically, it is at these times when we need to be more grateful for what we are being shown and taught because this is when God is providing for us even more. Gratitude is integral to growing a relationship with God.
Lent is typically a time for sombre
reflection, and when we work on ourselves and our spiritual development, an “inward” journey that leads us towards “outward” transformation. Lent should also be a time when we prepare ourselves for the one thing for which we are most thankful: our salvation. Salvation is the greatest spiritual gift we receive from Christ. We should be most grateful for the forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life with our Saviour. “For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to
him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!” (Romans 5:10)
When we consider what we have to be thankful for, the top of the list is usually our family, friends, and our loved ones. Showing appreciation and gratitude to others improves our relationship with them. However, when we take time to expand on that list, we discover that there are many other blessings that we can
be grateful for. Perhaps, this Lent, we should spend more time reflecting on the idea that everything in our life is a gift to be treasured and thankful for.
How can we be intentional about being thankful and grateful during Lent?
- We can incorporate gratitude into our prayer life, noticing where we experience God in the ordinary experiences of our day. Prayer that incorporates gratitude makes us more aware of the
grace of God acting in our lives. St Ignatius Loyola suggests that The Examen of Consciousness (Examen) is a prayerful reflection on the events of our day that helps us to recognise God’s presence and discern his will for us. The first step of the Examen is to recall anything from the day for which you are grateful and to give thanks to God for these. In essence, this is part of the Jesuit tradition of finding God in all things.
- Start a gratitude journal where you can write down all the
things you are grateful for. This can be done in conjunction with the Examen (or independently) at any time, but it is suggested that sleep comes easier when recording moments of gratitude before bed.
- Intentionally practice gratitude in all things: in your conversations, prayer, singing, meditations, reflections and in all daily activities.
- Identify a person/people who are grateful. Notice how they speak and act and learn from them.
“With gratitude in our heart and self-reflection on our mind, we can truly begin to reconcile
our sinful nature with our rightful position as recipients of God’s love.” - Jared Ison, A Call to Deeper Gratitude in Lent.
Notice how you feel and what you learn about yourself when being thankful or showing gratitude. What has been the most challenging part of being thankful? What has been the most rewarding part of being thankful?
The Psalmist asks, “How can I repay the Lord for all the great good done for me?”
(Psalm 116). We first need to recognise and acknowledge all the
good. Gratitude is a choice. We can choose to focus on being thankful or choose to focus on our worries. God has a message for us in all circumstances. Being thankful and grateful brings us into the Lord’s presence.
Look back at your life. Where has God been part of it? How have you been blessed? How have you extended these blessings to others?
Readings for the coming days
11 Mar John 13:18-38
12 Mar Luke 22:24-38
13 Mar Matthew 26:31-35
14 Mar John 14:1-31
15 Mar John 15:1-27; 16:1-4
16 Mar John 16:5-33
