NEWSLETTER INSERTS - ON GRATITUDE

The Gospel this Sunday is about the ten lepers who begged Jesus to cure them. When he did so, only one came back to thank him. Below are a selection of inspiring quotes on the value and power of gratitude.

‘Jesus does not demand great actions from us but simply surrender and gratitude’.

St Therese of Lisieux, Story of a Soul.

‘Selfish love makes us unappreciative and ungrateful because we attribute all we have to our own shrewdness. And what is the evidence? Our ingratitude, shown in the sins we commit every day. Gratitude, on the other hand, is proof that we are attributing to God alone all that we have.’

St Catherine of Siena,  Letter T96

'What makes people patient, so that they patiently bear hurt, reproach, slander, and abuse from others, and torments and assaults from the devil? Gratitude.' 

St Catherine of Siena, Letter T336.

‘Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Redeemer, I kneel before your blessed cross. I want to open my spirit and my heart to contemplate your holy sufferings. I want to place your cross before my poor soul that I might know it a little better, that I might receive more deeply into my heart all that you did and suffered and that I might realise who it was for whom you suffered. May your grace be with me, the grace to shake off the coldness and indifference of my heart, to forget my everyday life for at least this time of prayer with you and to dwell with you in love, sorrow and gratitude. King of all hearts, may your crucified love embrace my poor, weak, tired and discouraged heart. Fill my heart with an interior awareness of you. Stir up in me what I need so badly: compassion for you, love for you, honesty and fidelity, and perseverance in the contemplation of your holy sufferings and death.’

Karl Rahner SJ

‘Being thankful, if practiced regularly, becomes a habit. It's the best one we can have because it's the healthiest possible way of looking at life. It's not just a habit but an attitude. Being able to appreciate what we have is one of the keys to fulfillment. Real enjoyment starts with being thankful. Maybe that's why the Bible tells us that we need to begin our prayers by thanking instead of asking’.

Hal Urban, Life’s Greatest Lessons