Have Hearts of Gratitude

by David Lins  |  10/09/2022  |  (Being) Catholic Matters

You won the lottery. And because you are a kind and generous soul, you’ve decided to throw a party for family and friends. You finally have the opportunity to make dreams come true!

There is couple from your parish who have always wanted to visit the Vatican, but couldn’t afford it. You aren’t particularly close, but you decide to bless their lives anyway. You bought them tickets, a week in a hotel, and included enough money for food, ground transportation, and entry to anywhere they want to go.

There is a dear friend who has had multiple health issues, and the debt continues to multiply. You give him a check to pay off every cent of his medical debt.

Your daughter and her spouse desperately want to adopt several children and you let them know that you will cover every penny of the costs associated with the first three adoptions, allowing them to grow a family.

Your engineer brother always wanted to cruise from the east coast, through the Panama Canal, and around to California. Trip purchased!
Your grandchild is struggling with addiction and wants help, but the local programs his parents can afford don’t seem to be helping for more than a week. You set him up with one of the most prestigious treatment facilities in the nation.

Giving the gifts felt amazing… except… everyone just left the party in their excitement without so much as a thank you. And now you home is quiet and they are all gone. Until the doorbell rings.

It’s the couple from church you barely know. And they are standing there with something they baked as a gesture of gratitude. “We know this is nothing compared to your incredible gift. But we needed to thank you just the same.”

Who do you feel closest to now? Is there anything you wouldn’t do for these people? Kind of like Jesus felt after the Samaritan came back to thank him after he had been healed in today’s Gospel. Kind of like how God feels about us when we remember to have hearts of gratitude toward him for all that we have been given.

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