Guest Column / Richard Etienne

Look for every opportunity to be thankful in life

What does the word Thanksgiving immediately bring to mind?

Do you think of turkey and dressing, pilgrims, or the cornucopia of plenty? Or did you immediately think of the eucharistic celebration?

The word “Eucharist” means thanksgiving. What are you thankful for? Your health, possessions, relationships?

In your own life, do you spend more time thinking about your next “want” or purchase than all of the blessings in your life? Becoming a more thankful person is a part of maturing in life.

When one is born, we are completely dependent on others for our every need. It is understandable that an infant has to make his or her needs known to their caregiver. For example, “I am hungry. I need changing. I am tired.”

But as we mature, we must spend more energy on being thankful for the many blessings that God has given us than on our next request. There is the story of 10 lepers who were healed by Jesus. I am sure that they all “wanted” to be healed of this terrible social as well as physical ailment. But we are told that only one took the initiative to return to Jesus to express gratitude for his healing.

I recently read that gratitude is at the heart of being a Catholic—we can only be thankful once we realize how little we can be or do without God!

In the Gloria, we sing, “We give you thanks for your great glory.” As humans, it is very easy to always recite our wants when praying, but overlook the importance of being thankful for what we have been given.

Before meals we say, “Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts, which we are about to receive … .” This same attitude can be applied in so many other areas of our lives. As just one example: I am often very aware of my feeling of gratitude when I crawl under my covers at night—because of the feel of those sheets! Are you thankful for the clothes as you fold them after laundering? Do you thank God for your means of transportation when you travel—and do you ask for safety as you get underway? The situations for being thankful are endless.

What is the next purchase that you are planning? Take a period of time to thank God for what you have for at least as long as you spend planning for that purchase. Look for every opportunity to be thankful!
 

(Rick Etienne is a member of St. John the Baptist Parish in Newburgh, Ind., in the Evansville Diocese.) †