With Thanksgiving around the corner it is a good time to think about cultivating the habit of thankfulness. No matter what cross we are bearing, there is always something to be grateful for. Our Lord loves a grateful heart!

May these quotes bless you today with the spirit of gratitude…

1. Father Faber — on the beauty of gratitude

“Thankfulness is a soil in which pride cannot grow.
It springs from a sense of our own unworthiness and of God’s overflowing bounty.
A thankful heart sees blessings everywhere.
It finds causes for joy in the smallest of gifts — a quiet moment, a child’s smile, a task completed with love.
He who has learned to give thanks in all things has entered into a peace that the world cannot take away.
Gratitude is the sunshine of the soul, and it brightens all it touches.”

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2. Fr. Lasance — on counting blessings and daily gratitude

(From “My Prayer Book”)
“We should form the habit of looking for the blessings which each hour brings us.
We miss many a joy because our eyes are fixed on the clouds when we should be looking at the sunlight.
If we could but see as God sees, we would understand how often He sprinkles little joys along our path to cheer us, and how constantly His Providence is at work for our good.
Gratitude opens the heart to these mercies; it makes the ordinary beautiful and the burdens light.”

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3. Catherine Doherty — on thanking God ahead of time

(From her writings in “Grace in Every Season”)
“Thank God ahead of time.
This is not merely a pious phrase but a way of living.
It means surrendering our will to God’s will, believing that He is present in every circumstance, and that even what seems difficult will bear fruit.
Thanking Him before we see the results fills the soul with peace; it turns fear into trust and discouragement into hope.
Teach your children to thank God not only for what is pleasant, but for what helps them grow.”

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4. Mary Reed Newland — on gratitude learned in the home

(From The Year and Our Children)
“Children learn gratitude first in the home, where the small courtesies of daily living are practiced.
A mother who says ‘thank you’ to her little ones, who notices their efforts and acknowledges the kindnesses of others, is teaching more than manners.
She is shaping a way of seeing the world — a way that looks for goodness, expects God’s generosity, and delights in simple gifts.
This kind of gratitude becomes a habit of the heart, one that children will carry with them all their lives.”

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5. Elisabeth Leseur — gratitude sanctifies the ordinary

(From her diary, The Secret Diary of Elisabeth Leseur)
“Let us accept with gratitude all that God sends us each day — joys and trials, comforts and weariness.
Nothing is wasted when received with love.
In the smallest duties, in the humblest tasks, we may find opportunities to thank Him.
Such gratitude sanctifies the ordinary and transforms daily life into a continuous act of love.
This quiet thanksgiving brings grace to the home and peace to the soul.”

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6. Fr. Faber — on seeing God’s gifts everywhere

“How full of God’s gifts our daily life is!
We rise each morning to a world we did not create, sustained by mercies we did not earn.
Every breath, every moment of peace, every joy of family life is a love-token from the Heart of God.
But we pass by these blessings so quickly that we fail to recognize them.
To cultivate a grateful spirit is to pause long enough to see the hand of God in all things, and to let our hearts respond with love.
A grateful soul is never poor, for it sees treasures where others see only trifles.”

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7. Fr. Lasance — on thanking God in all circumstances

(From “My Prayer-Book”)
“Thank God not only for the blessings that brighten your path but also for the trials that teach your heart.
Both are sent in love.
The grateful soul learns to receive all from the hand of God, knowing that nothing He permits is without purpose.
Gratitude softens sorrow, tempers joy, and sanctifies the common duties of life.
It is the fragrance of a humble heart that rests in God’s Providence and trusts His tender care.”

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8. Thomas à Kempis — gratitude leads to peace

(From The Imitation of Christ)
“If thou receivest every good gift with gratitude, and every cross with resignation, thy life shall be full of peace.
For gratitude draws the heart upward to God, and resignation binds it gently to His will.
When a man gives thanks in all things, he has found the secret of holy joy; for he sees God’s love in every circumstance, and his heart is at rest.
A thankful soul is a dwelling place of grace.”

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9. St. Francis de Sales — gratitude and gentleness in the home

(From Introduction to the Devout Life)
“Consider how many favors God has shown thee, and with what tenderness He watches over thy life.
Let this remembrance make thy heart gentle and thy words sweet.
For when we dwell upon God’s goodness, we become more patient with the faults of others and more ready to acknowledge their virtues.
In a home where gratitude reigns, peace soon follows, and charity finds a resting place.”

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10. Cardinal Mercier — gratitude invites the Holy Spirit

“If every morning you offer your heart to the Holy Spirit in humble gratitude, you will begin to see His work in the smallest details of your day.
He will give you a calm spirit, a gentle manner, and a joyful perseverance in your duties.
Thanksgiving disposes the soul to receive His inspirations.
The grateful heart becomes like a clear window through which His light pours into the home.”

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11. Fulton Sheen — the mother’s influence on gratitude

“The mother is the first altar at which a child learns to kneel.
It is from her lips that he hears his first hymns of thanksgiving and from her example that he learns to see God’s gifts in the common things of life.
A mother who gives thanks in joy and in trial teaches her children that life is not something owed to us, but something given — and therefore something to be received with gratitude.
In this way she shapes not only their manners, but their souls.”

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12. St. Thérèse of Lisieux — gratitude in the little things

(From Story of a Soul)
“How good God is to me!
He teaches me in the smallest things.
A smile received, a task to be done, a little sacrifice — all are opportunities to love Him.
When we thank Him for these small graces, our hearts grow, and love becomes easy.
Gratitude makes the soul light, like a child who trusts completely in her Father.”

OUR LADY’S PRESENTATION: NOVEMBER 21ST

This feast was kept for hundreds of years in the east before the west took it over; and in England it was observed long before the rest of Europe.

“The lovely Virgin being born according to the divine decrees, her parents led her to the temple, to fulfill their promise to give her to her Creator. Anna in her joy thus cried out to the priest: `Receive this child, lead her into the most secluded parts of the temple; surround her with all care: for she was given me as the fruit of my prayers, and in the joy of my faith I promised to devote her to God her Creator.'”

It is easy to see how this day, which describes Mary as entering upon a new life, to which she would bring ever greater exactness to her service of God, came to be thought a fitting occasion for priests and religious to renew their vows.

One may still commemorate the traditional life of Mary in the temple by making this day an occasion in youth groups or schools when everyone belonging to any Catholic organization renews their membership and the promises they have made on being accepted. This renewal might well be made in the church, and after the ceremony some sort of general party or festivity could be arranged.

 

 

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