16 August 2019 - thankfulness practice

Saint Stephen of Hungary

Today's Readings

(Audio)

"I gave you a land that you had not tilled
and cities that you had not built, to dwell in;
you have eaten of vineyards and olive groves
which you did not plant."

God was faithful before. He will be faithful in the future. We see grace at work in the past, where God gave us the victory in Christ through no effort of ours.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9not a result of works, so that no one may boast (see Ephesians 2:8-9).

Just as our very creation is a gift, just as the victory of God in Christ is something we could never earn, so too is every blessing the LORD gives us unearned. We need to learn to treasure these things in our hearts as Mary does (see Luke 2:19). This is vital, because without doing so our blessings are seed that just falls on the soil and are quickly stolen from us by the enemy. The LORD has done so much more than we can ask or imagine, but we only remember a small percentage of it. We need to become intentional about giving thanks.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever;
Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his mercy endures forever;
Give thanks to the LORD of lords,
for his mercy endures forever.

Only by relying on the unmerited favor given by God can we actually live out the Christian call to marriage.

His disciples said to him,
"If that is the case of a man with his wife,
it is better not to marry."
He answered, "Not all can accept this word,
but only those to whom that is granted.

Humans tend to have a negativity bias. It may once have had survival value for earlier humans. But it is not the approach we want to apply to our spiritual lives. Yet we tend to note the imperfections and difficulties and pay little attention to the blessings and graces we are given. No wonder we think we are weak. We only remember how things are when we rely on ourselves and forget about God. Yet there is no vocation that doesn't rely on God's grace. We are not called to a life of weakness but one of victory.

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (see First Corinthians 5:57).

Just as we are called to take every thought captive to Christ (see Second Corinthians 10:5) so too must we not only blessings to escape without giving thanks. We must let Mary be our model and treasure God's actions in our hearts. Then we can live our vocations victoriously, without fear.