Homily

I consider myself to be a grateful person. I'm grateful for the many kindnesses shown to me by so many people. I'm grateful for a place to live, food to eat and good health. I'm grateful for the gift of divine life, for the forgiveness of my sins, for the Holy Eucharist. So I consider myself to be a grateful person, and that is, I think, true. But how grateful am I, and is it in the proper measure? Am I as grateful as I ought to be? I don't think so.

It is a great thing to live in gratitude rather than just being thankful from time to time, because it then becomes a way of life in which I see more of what I have and what has been given to me than I see what is missing or unfulfilled, or wrong or broken. If I am more in tune, more focused on what I have than what I do not have, it creates a different style of life which affects not only my relationship to material goods, but even more importantly my relationships with other people and also my relationship with God.

I suspect most of us would say that we could use a little more thankfulness in our lives, but how much more should we be looking for or working at? That's a good question and I don't have a complete answer, but I do think there are some ways in which we can test ourselves to see if we ought to make room for more thankfulness in our lives. (1) How much time, effort, thought and work do I invest into gaining or improving material goods that are not essential to life? There's nothing wrong with a new car or a remodeled kitchen, of course, but how much do I put of myself into material goods and how important are they in my daily life? (2) How easy is it for me to become irritated, frustrated or angry? There are, of course, irritating, frustrating and anger-provoking people and events in daily life, but how easy is it for me to become disturbed by them, and how often do they affect my attitude and behavior? (3) I pray to the Lord for the things I need and want. How much of my prayer time is spent thanking the Lord for what I already have?

I think that living in gratitude is not only about the realization and acceptance that this life is not heaven, it's also about the way we value the people and the goods in our lives, and where does the Lord fit into all of that? It is also about where I am looking for satisfaction and fulfillment; what do I hunger for and what will it take to satisfy me? If my viewpoint is repeatedly showing me what is insufficient, lacking, irritating, distressing, worrisome, frustrating, dangerous and undesirable, I think it's safe to say there is room for more thankfulness in my life. If I am able to more clearly see the many faults of the people I live and work with than I see their good points, there is room for more thankfulness in my life. If I find that I'm not spending much time talking to God because there is so much to do that I just don't have the time for it, there may be room for more thankfulness in my life.

There is always the temptation for us to think and act in self-centered ways because we can't trust God will give what we want, that other people will act the way we want, or that we will have enough stuff to be satisfied. It is very easy for us to fall into this type of temptation, to believe that if I want it I will have to try and get myself, and not trust in other people or even God, to find satisfaction and happiness in life. Living in gratitude is the accurate and honest realization that it is not all about me. I have been given a great deal and it has come from other hands, and it has not been because I am so deserving to receive it, but rather it was given to me in love, or in kindness, or in generosity or in goodness. I do not have all that I have because of my own doing, and I am not the person I am simply because of my own doing, but because other people have also given to me and sometimes they are the ones I first turn against when I am not happy. Even more than that, the very life I have was a gift from God, Who also then offered me the gift of eternal life and divine sonship in the waters of baptism. He, as well, calls me to His banquet table for a feast I could never afford and He promises to give me all the help I truly need to find my way to that celebration.

Living in gratitude is not a denial of the troubles and sorrows of life in this world. Certainly those things are also a part of our lives. But I think of St. Paul and all his many pains and sufferings, both physically and emotionally and even his spiritual struggles—and yet what consistently comes out in his letters is a great spirit of gratitude towards God, and also towards his fellow Christians. He lived and he died very much aware that he was in possession of the greatest of gifts. I pray that all of us may keep growing in that same way, giving thanks to God for all things, even today at this Liturgy.