Every day, some of us receive great news or experience successes,
while others receive bad news and experience failures or disappointments. Perhaps giving thanks when you received what
is good for you and your family has been a habit of yours. How about giving thanks at times when you did
not get what you expected or desired?
Can you also give thanks as St. Paul reminded the Thessalonians, “in all circumstances”? This can be tough when it is close to home, or
when your family members or friends are suffering.
St. Paul understood struggle. He reminded the Thessalonians in his
time and he reminds us today that we need to give thanks, even in circumstances
when we do not feel like it. Why?
Because he believed that it is “the will of God for us in Christ
Jesus.” Today’s first reading mentions one
aspect of that will: God sent Jesus “to
heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, to announce a year
of favor from the Lord.” By delaying our
thanks to God when situations are challenging, we might find ourselves
unintentionally “quenching the Spirit.”
Even before the founding of the Sisters of
Christian Charity, Mother Pauline was someone who understood struggle, avoided
“quenching the Spirit,” and gave thanks in all circumstances. In her retreat notes from March, 1845, she
wrote: “Whatever
God does with me is well done. In every
dispensation of Providence, whether it bring joy or sorrow, I will exclaim,
‘Thanks be to God!’” She carried the
spirit of gratitude with her through the founding of the Congregation, through
so many losses in her life (especially during the Kulturkampf), and through her own death. She is a model of openness to the Holy
Spirit.
Today, choose one thing/event for which you are struggling to give
thanks. Share it with God in prayer and be open to the work of the Holy Spirit.
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