[Editor’s Note: Today is the American holiday of Thanksgiving. While not an explicitly Catholic holiday, this day reminds us of the need to always express our gratitude to the Lord. The passage below is from Divine Intimacy by Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D (Baronius Press). Happy Thanksgiving!]
Incapable as we are of paying our debts to God according to justice, we should at least try to supply for them by our gratitude. Even the poorest beggar, having nothing to give in return for the alms he has received, can always acknowledge a kindness by showing gratitude to his benefactor. This is our position in regard to God: we have nothing of our own; all that we are and have comes from Him, and in return for His infinite generosity, we can do nothing but use His gifts to express our gratitude to Him. “In all things give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you all” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
God, who showers blessings upon us with infinite generosity, has a perfect right to expect gratitude from us. Yet this, a natural need of a humble, delicate soul, is a duty so often neglected even by good people, even by those who have received the most favors from God. Jesus complained of this neglect when only one of the ten lepers whom He had cured returned to thank Him: “And where are the nine? Is there no one found to return and give glory to God, but this stranger?” (Luke 17:17,18).
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