Tag: gratitude

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Minute Meditation – Thanks Be To God!

“Thanks be to God” was the prayer most often on his lips, coming directly from his heart. Always filled with a true sense of gratitude himself, first to God and then to the benefactors, he tried to lead others to this attitude. In 1937 he was invited to deliver a little “radio address” at the time of a benefit party arranged for the soup kitchen. This is an excerpt from that talk. 

“From all parts of the city men and women came to us asking how they might help. We Capuchins are told that the city of Detroit wishes to show itself grateful for the help we have given during the days of the Depression. We admit that we have tried to be of service to the poorest of the poor, but must add that it was a simple duty. St. Francis, our holy founder, impressed it upon his brethren that they must labor for their daily bread. And he added, “Should the wages of our work be not given us, then shall we have recourse to the table of the Lord asking alms from door to door.” Our lot has been cast among the simple lives of the poor, and our object is to give them spiritual aid and, if possible, material help as well. When speaking of those days of the Depression, we cannot forget that our work in relieving the misery of poverty was made possible only by the willing cooperation of such people as bakers who supplied bread, the farmers who gave us vegetables, and our numerous friends who made donations from their fairly empty purses. It is to these generous souls that we want to pay tribute today. May the all-bountiful God, who leaves no glass of water offered in His name to pass unrewarded, recompense the generosity of our friends with true happiness—the peace of the soul.”

—from the book Gratitude and Grit: The Life of Blessed Solanus Casey,
by Brother Leo Wollenweber, OFM Cap, pages 49-51

//Franciscan Media//

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Minute Meditation – Eating is an Opportunity for Gratitude

Food offers a constant opportunity to take in gifts with gratitude, which is one of the fundamental practices of the spiritual life. Every time you eat is a chance to give thanks for all those many links in the great chain of being that brings nourishment to your body and your soul. It’s a chance to be grateful for the miracle of your body, which can take food and turn it into the miracle that is you or, if you are pregnant, your developing child. There are plenty of times when I take food for granted, when I treat it merely as fuel, or when, to use one of the phrases I like least in the English language, I just “grab a bite.” But other times, whether it’s in receiving the Eucharist or eating Cyndi’s homemade pizza on Friday nights, I’m full—of wonder, gratitude, and a sense of belonging with those I eat with and with the beautiful living world that brings such miracles to my plate. Saying grace over meals, then eating with full awareness and intention, is one of the most profoundly spiritual practices I know of—and we have a chance to do it several times, every day.

— from the book Making Room: Soul-Deep Satisfaction through Simple Living by Kyle Kramer, page 123

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Minute Meditation – God Feeds Us with Loving Kindness

Food freely given exacts from us a promise to go beyond its selfish reception to the unselfish realm of deep gratitude. There we commit ourselves to give to others what we have received. My food mentors—grandmother and mother—cooked not because their sense of dignity depended on others’ opinions of them but because they knew that treating tablemates to the best they could offer was the backbone of every family and nation. Though ingratitude and indifference might have come to their table, it disappeared when they left it. Poured forth from previously pursed lips was a litany of gratitude complemented by what these good souls always wanted to see: sighs and smiles of contentment.

—from the book Table of Plenty: Good Food for Body and Spirit
by Susan Muto 

//Franciscan Media//

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Minute Meditation – Celebrating with a Meal Transforms Us

A table full of hungry people, celebrating the spirit and the flavor of marvelous food, is a transformative event, exceeding, as do all transcendent experiences, our fondest expectations. In eyes rolling upward, in a symphony of little satisfied sounds, in the ear-to-ear smile of the cook when the dishes are done and the pots and pans are washed—all are witnesses in silent gratitude to the perfect wedding of body and soul.

—from the book Table of Plenty: Good Food for Body and Spirit
by Susan Muto

//Franciscan Media//

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Minute Meditation – God Feeds Us with Loving Kindness

Food freely given exacts from us a promise to go beyond its selfish reception to the unselfish realm of deep gratitude. There we commit ourselves to give to others what we have received. My food mentors—grandmother and mother—cooked not because their sense of dignity depended on others’ opinions of them but because they knew that treating tablemates to the best they could offer was the backbone of every family and nation. Though ingratitude and indifference might have come to their table, it disappeared when they left it. Poured forth from previously pursed lips was a litany of gratitude complemented by what these good souls always wanted to see: sighs and smiles of contentment.

—from the book Table of Plenty: Good Food for Body and Spirit
by Susan Muto 

//Franciscan Media//

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Meditation of the Day – God Has Loved You From Eternity

“Thus, brethren, God has loved you from eternity, and through pure love, he has selected you from among so many men whom he could have created in place of you; but he has left them in their nothingness, and has brought you into existence, and placed you in the world. For the love of you, he has made so many other beautiful creatures, that they might serve you, and that they might remind you of the love which he has borne to you, and of the gratitude which you owe to him.”— St. Alphonsus Liguori, p. 218

//Catholic Company//

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Minute Meditation – No Fear of Joy

“We need to overcome the fear of joy; we need to think of the many times that we are not joyful because we are afraid. In my homeland there is a saying that goes like this: when someone gets burned by boiling milk, he cries when he sees the cow. The disciples, who were burned by the drama of the cross, said: no, let’s stop here! He is in heaven, that’s excellent, he is risen, but may he not come back again because we can’t handle it!” —Pope Francis

On the surface, we might be tempted to scoff at the pope’s claim that we’re afraid of joy. But how often have we become so used to crisis and dread in our lives that we can’t relax and enjoy a moment of peace, a time of no stress? How often do we manufacture a crisis just because we know how to solve a problem or fix something that’s broken? Easter joy takes some getting used to. We love the rigors and the austerities of Lent. We’re not as familiar or comfortable with the joy of Easter. One reason for this is that the kind of joy Jesus brings comes from living fully in the present. We are so much better at looking back to past pain or dreading the uncertainty of the future. Living in the present, the eternal now, requires both gratitude and grace. 

— from the book The Hope of Lent: Daily Reflections from Pope Francis,

by Diane M. Houdek

//Franciscan Media//