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Gratitude - A Most Necessary Virtue

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JMJ

I just recently read an article by Robert Siscoe titled: The Importance of Gratitude in that Age of Apostasy (Catholic Family News, August 2016 Vol 23 Issue 8).

In the article he cites extensively from The Third Spiritual Alphabet by Francisco de Osuna (LINK) while calling on Mediations For All The Days of the YearFr. Andre-Jean Marie Hamon's book on meditations, St. Thomas, St. Abrose, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque.

I heartily recommend my readers to acquire a hard copy of the edition or review a slightly modified version at the link below.

The core message is this:
"If we fail to give thanks to God for the gifts we have received regardless of the circumstances in which we find ourselves the gifts themselves will grow stale and putregfy and, rather than serving as a means by which we can glorifying God and merit an eternal reward, our gifts themselves will produce rotten fruits and be the cause of our damnation."


If we fail to render to God proper and due thanksgiving the result will be the corruption of our gifts into:vanity, boasting,spiritual, presumptuousness. 

Further Mr. Siscoe state the following:

" ... if we fail to give thanks to God, the light of faith, by which we more clearly perceive the evils of the world will produce within us bitterness and rancor; rather than purifying the heart and making man happy, these 'fruits of corruption'  will render him miserable.  Rather than making him humble wondering why the good God has given him the Faith in an age of apostasy, he will become frustrated with those who can't see the truth and like the Pharisees of old, will fail in charity toward them."

The remedy is to be thankful always and for all things.  As Siscoe cited Osuna wrote: "Do not be like this, brother; awaken your soul to thank God for his kindness, thus heeding the council of our letter:  Let all your works abound in fervent thanks".

Siscoe goes on to cite Osuna's three methods of thanksgiving:

  1. Deeds: Giving our life for Christ vis martyrdom, using our talents for the service of God.
  2. Mediation on the gifts we have received: Frequent acts of loving affections for favours received, for those promised, and for the ones lost through sin.
  3. Words: By praising and referring everything we have received to its originator: God.
Pray and be Grateful that God has deigned to allow you to live in the time of the Church's trials - that you may thank him for the gifts He has bestowed upon you - as unworthy as you are and will ever be.

P^3



Links:


Virtues

The Importance of Gratitude

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