The Catholic Woman’s Traditional Gratitude Journal is available here.
“No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks.”
St. Ambrose
Sometimes gratefulness comes easy.
Other times, it can be difficult to be thankful, especially when we are going through stuff. I think, too, that if we have trained our mind to be negative, to see the bad things first, we will always find being grateful difficult.
If we are to have peace and joy, we must turn our thoughts to the spirit of gratefulness….not only for the good things, but also for those trials that cross our path…seeing God’s Hand in all things.
The saints have all realized the need for gratitude. Many of them had profound advice that can encourage us in our daily struggle to be thankful.
Gratefulness can transform our life. Do we struggle with discouragement? Do we compare our life to others and therefore let jealousy enter in? Are we impatient? Do we seem to be dissatisfied a lot? Are our duties irksome?
We need to realize that by learning to turn our hearts and our minds around into a spirit..(yes, a spirit, meaning, something that continually flows from our hearts)….into thanksgiving we can change all of the above. We truly transform who we are.
We become more pleasant to be around…especially for ourselves. We actually begin to like our life…with all its ups and downs. We begin to look at life through eyes that are different…filled with gratefulness!
BUT we have to train ourselves to think his way…and this can take some work. Yes, the key to this is practice. Every day in our thoughts…practice. All through the day.
And this is where this is where my 30 Day Gratitude Journal comes in. For 30 days you will be practicing being grateful. Practice, practice, practice.
You will be thinking of good memories, something special that happened that day, things and people you are grateful for, an answered prayer….
There are beautiful quotes from solid Catholic authors and saints all throughout the book to help you gain peace, gratefulness and joy in your life.
There is also a checklist for those important spiritual things throughout the day to keep you on track spiritually.
By taking this seriously, this step in our life to be grateful, to think on good things, you will begin to train your thoughts along the positive. It can be the beginning of a transformation in your life!!
So why not start now? Begin the practice of gratefulness. Remodel your life into something new! How pleasing this will be to Our Lord and how satisfying and fulfilling for you!
“Get used to lifting your heart to God, in acts of thanksgiving, many times a day. Because he gives you this and that. Because you have been despised. Because you haven’t what you need or because you have. Because he made his Mother so beautiful, his Mother who is also your Mother. Because he created the sun and the moon and this animal and that plant. Because he made that man eloquent and you he left tongue-tied … Thank him for everything, because everything is good.” – St. Josemaria Escriva
You may purchase the book here.
Learn to enjoy life. Be thankful. Smile. When you catch yourself becoming irritated or disturbed at circumstances, stop and laugh at the little things that steal your peace. Count your blessings and learn to be appreciative. Cicero once said, “A grateful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues.”
There’s nothing complicated or magical about learning to be kinder; it just takes greater attention to the things that you do and how you do them. The Hidden Power of Kindness shows you how to become more aware of even your most offhand daily actions. You’ll find simple, step-by-step, and spiritually crucial directions for how to overcome the habitual unkindnesses that creep undetected into the behavior of even the most careful souls.
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That’s a clever idea! Thank you!
Lovely.
Oh how I love receiving your emails ! I savor each word ! With all the evil and turmoil that is in our world today, it is so good to be refreshed with reminders of whai is really important now … as it always has been . Loving God and doing our daily duty as parents to lead our young ones to God !