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I speak often of gratitude as a foundation of the spiritual life; giving thanks to God and others for the remarkable gifts we receive is a hallmark of our fundamental posture of humility before the Lord.
When we acknowledge everything as a gracious gift, an undeserved grace, we can live in wonder, awe, and generosity as we contemplate the astonishing miracle of our existence.
For many, this Thanksgiving will be difficult because of COVID.Some may struggle to feel grateful for anything at all because we deeply feel the loss of so many aspects of life as we knew it to be. When life breaks our hearts, our natural tendency is to mourn the loss of what is gone, rather than to offer thanks for what remains.
I find it helpful in such moments to remember that nothing was really mine to begin with. I did not will myself to be nor did I create my loved ones.
My relationships, time, health, education, possessions, achievements, and experiences have all been given to me by the Lord. I am the steward of these remarkable blessings, but I did not bring any of them to be.
This acceptance of our dependence, contingency, and even weakness should give us a sense of detachment when we suffer loss.
As Job reminds us in the Old Testament, we brought nothing into this world, and we take nothing out of it.
Gratitude frees us to enjoy the gifts we receive without clinging to them, so that when they are taken away, we cling to the Lord only that much firmer.
Thanksgiving helps us to be generous and even prodigal in passing gifts onto others; realizing how gracious God has been to us liberates the human heart from greed, jealousy, self-pity, and entitlement.
How can we ever be stingy when God is the Lord of the feast?
What can really be lost
“How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” the beloved holiday classic, has much to teach us on this point. The Grinch thinks he can steal Christmas and destroy the happiness of the Whos by taking all of the trappings of the season.
So, he steals the decorations, presents, Christmas trees, and food, taking all of it to his cave up in the mountains, where he dwells in his loneliness, anger, and self-pity. Then, on Christmas morning, he sneaks back down to watch what the Whos will do in light of their catastrophic loss. He wants them to be as sad and miserable as himself.
Much to his surprise and wonder, the entire village gathers in the town square, bereft of their giant Christmas tree, join hands and joyfully sing their little holiday song, as they always have. The Grinch experiences conversion when he discovers that he did not steal Christmas after all, that the loss of their holiday possessions did not affect the villagers’ joy, hope, and love in the least, that Christmas is a movement of the spirit in a stance of wonder, gratitude, and praise.
Can we rise in the morning and still sing our hymn of praise to God, even when our hearts are breaking? Can we offer gratitude and joy to the Lord, even when we have suffered terrible loss? Can we stand with the Blessed Virgin Mary at the foot of the cross in love, hope, and compassion and be a sentinel of the dawn even in the darkest of nights?
Inevitably, the world will break our hearts and we will know sorrow and grief, often in overwhelming and unexpected ways. Sadness, anger, and depression may lay claim to our spirits in such difficult moments, but I pray they never break us.
Life will wound us, as we bear the scars of struggles, losses, and defeats, but gratitude binds us to God whose steadfast and eternal love holds us close.
Knowing what life is about
Being thankful offers a healthy sense of detachment, reminding us that we are pilgrims in this life, sojourners on our way to the Father’s house.
We can and must bear the apparent loss of all things as we know them to be when we fall into the great mystery of death, but our faith tells us that surrender only empties us out so that God can fill us for all eternity with the abundant graces of Heaven.
Every authentic gift of self to another is a dress rehearsal for the final existential act of handing our whole life over to the Lord at the end.
What we give away in charity to others, especially the poor and suffering, remains forever in God’s heart. What we cling to in selfishness turns to dust and ashes in our clenched hands.
Gratitude expands our hearts and vision so that we understand the supernatural importance of the divine stage, upon which the drama of our lives play themselves out.
Like the Grinch, will we come to know what life is about before it is too late? Every day offers us rich opportunities to live in joy, love, faith, praise, and thanksgiving.
This Thanksgiving, think of the graces you enjoy, not what is beyond your grasp. Thank the Lord for the blessings you have received, rather than dwelling on what has been lost.
No matter what befalls us, we know the love of the Father, possess the promise of eternal life and forgiveness offered to us by Jesus and enjoy the consoling fire of the Holy Spirit, burning in our hearts.
In all things, may we praise and thank the Lord!