Gratitude

We often hear the priests and our brethren in the community to Give Thanks to the Lord.

In most of our teachings, I always hear that we rob ourselves of blessings by not thanking God for what all that he has done, is doing and will do for us. In Psalm 116:12-13 it says: “What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me? I will take up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord.”

Therefore in this post, I would like to share my own thoughts on the specific ways to express gratitude to the Almighty one!

I can hear the song intro: “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.” (Psalms 100:4). Even Jesus himself stops and prayed ²⁵At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Matthew 11:25

Here are 5 specific ways to express our Thank you to the Lord!

1. Utter the words of Gratitude. As I write this line, I could hear Father Arlo saying “The one who thinks, THANKS!” Start the day with gratitude, say Thank you to Him at all times, may it be little blessings or big – say it loud and clear!

2. Prayer of Thanksgiving. In our Households, we use ACTS – T – as Thanksgiving is a vital part of our prayers before asking anything else. Make a habit to always start your prayer with gratefulness. Remember Him; make him a part of our thoughts. Talk to Him and choose to pray. PRAYING is an essential part of conveying our gratefulness to our Father. Simple prayers from the hearts matters. Go to Mass – Saying the words will not be enough, go to mass and express it there. After all keeping His special day and making sure that it is your “SUNdate / FRIdate” is a way to say Thank you!

3. Attitude of Gratefulness & being Humble. Develop this thankful attitude towards God and to everyone around us. We are blessed because of Him and therefore we must keep that attitude. Together with that thought of being blessed, let us also keep our feet on the ground and stay humble. Make it a favorite line to say “Praise God” whenever you hear appreciation from others because of your work. After all it isn’t really you, it is Him!

4. Obey His Commandments. This reminds me of the fresh encounter with SFL’s Extreme Adventure last week, when I was assigned for the 6^th Road Block – Enumeration, wherein players were asked to enumerate the 10 commandments.

With these commandments, it is recommended that we repent from sinning. Repentance alone is our very specific way of following God and thus considered our way of appreciation. On our CLS Talk 3 – Repentance & Faith should be together and showing or doing both is a way of expressing our deep gratitude towards Him.

Note: if you have read this blog and would like to share it to other people, repost/share it and post it with the no. 1 commandment. I am sharing you nos. 2-10 J

1. _____________________________________________

2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

3. Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.

4. Honor your father and your mother.

5. You shall not kill.

6. You shall not commit adultery.

7. You shall not steal.

8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

9. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.

10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.

5. Be a vessel, Serve Others – Be a vessel of His goodness, allows God to use you for his purpose and glory. The Lord has blessed you; it is right & just that you give back. Being in a religious community is a great way to give back. Share your 3Ts – Time, Talent & Treasure to our brethren and to any other person in need. Serve others in any way possible: be a messenger of the good news; evangelize through talks or through our actions, share your time in the Church or in the community. Give tithes to your spiritual growth providers – it could be the church, or the community you are in. If you are not yet a member of any religious community, join one. It is a good help for your growth, I can attest to that because I used to think I’m okay, I’m good, I go to church – but is different when you live in a community life just like CFC-FFL /CFFL.

Finally, plus one – specific action I would recommend is to keep a Gratitude Journal! I am one diary girl and whenever I review/re-read my entries it continuously make me feel blessed or sometimes laugh at myself for the things I did. Keeping a gratitude journal would definitely bring us back to our senses on how blessed we are being a son/daughter of God!

I hope these ways could help you to become more expressive in saying or showing THANK YOU to the LORD our God!

Gracias Señor! ☺

Gratitude

[grat-i-tood, -tyood] – Noun – the quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful