Posted on Wed, Nov 14, 2012
Thanksgiving is just around the corner. I love a holiday that invites us to simply be content. Never mind that it has become laden with holiday sales events. On Thanksgiving, families and friends gather to share a meal packed with tradition. This might well include a prayer of blessing or, at least, a naming of gifts for which each person is grateful. Even if this is a once-a-year occurrence, it reminds us of the grace of gratitude. For a brief moment, we have an opportunity to consider what we have – here and now – and to recognize that it is enough.
As a spiritual practice, I can’t think of a better way to come in touch with God’s day-to-day presence than gratitude. When we pause to consider how we have been blessed, we cultivate a mindfulness of grace as the outpouring of God’s love. Done on a regular basis, the practice of gratitude slowly works its way into our spiritual core and shifts the way we perceive the world around us. Instead of wanting more, we become content with what is right before us. Over time, a grateful heart becomes softer and more compassionate. Gratitude spawns generosity. When we know we have been blessed, we are drawn to sharing our bounty with others.
Thus it makes sense to practice grace-giving around a Thanksgiving table laden with delicious food. Benedictine Brother David Steindl-Rast notes that we honor God “…by honoring God’s gifts, by cultivating and refining what we’re given and passing it onto others” (Music of Silence, page 62). This can make the day after Thanksgiving a new beginning of sorts. After being well-fed, we then reach out to those who are starving for food and resources, for warmth and shelter, for a kind word and a consoling presence. In such a way, our thanks-giving becomes a grace to share with others, thus creating a table of blessing at which all are welcome.
Bright Ideas
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Between now and Thanksgiving, initiate a daily practice of gratitude by yourself or with your family or students. Name something each day for which you are grateful. Bring this attitude of gratitude to Thanksgiving Day and share it with others.
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Visit Brother David Steindl-Rast’s website – www.gratefulness.org – and share a post about something for which you are thankful.
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Download my “Extended Prayer of Grace before Meals” and use it as a reflection to enhance your practice of gratitude.
photo © iStockphoto
Posted on Wed, Aug 22, 2012
It’s been a few years since I wrote the “Ripples” reflection for my online column, “From My Home to Yours.” Nevertheless, I remember the story well. I popped into a convenience store on my way to give a talk to catechists in northern California. After a long, uncomfortable plane ride and with another two-hour drive ahead of me, I wasn’t a paragon of patience as I waited for the friendly clerk to assist the person in front of me. When she extended her graciousness to me, however, I shifted emotional gears. In doing so, I recognized the rippling effect that emanates from small acts of kindness.
As Labor Day approaches, I can still picture the environment where that episode took place. The store was cramped and shabby, and the clerk was seated in a tight little space behind a cluttered counter. As work conditions go, it was pretty dismal. Not only did she seem oblivious to this fact, but she also exemplified a Benedictine notion of work as both holy and egalitarian. In creating the “Rule” for monastic living, Benedict included work as a sacred endeavor that brings one closer to God. And, because work provided a means of service to and with one another, one job was not more important than another. Both of these notions seem sadly lacking in a culture that sets retirement – a state of “non-work” – as a lifetime goal, and measures success by one’s status and title.
A few years ago, my husband, Ron, and I were in the midst of a yearlong trip around the country. As part of our long-distance drives, I read books out loud to pass the time. One of them was Nickled and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich’s first-hand encounter with making ends meet through working a succession of minimum wage jobs. It changed our outlook around all of those people we encountered in gas stations, hotel rooms, and cafes. Their labors essentially made our trip possible. Perhaps such awareness was seeded in that long-ago encounter with a non-harried convenience store clerk. She turned around my notion of “labor” to something both reverent and blessed. In that spirit, I wish you a very Holy Labor Day.
Bright Ideas
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As the school year begins, think about ways to heighten your students’ awareness of and appreciation for the people who clean up after them. Encourage them to express their gratitude for people who labor on their behalf.
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Reflect on your own work in light of the Benedictine Rule. How might you serve others in a way that sends ripples of kindness into the world?
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Read about Catholic Social Teaching. Discuss with your class or family what it means to protect the rights and dignity of the worker.
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Download my blessing prayer for Labor Day and use it in your home, parish, or classroom.
photo © iStockphoto
Posted on Wed, Nov 16, 2011
“Pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks…” (1Thessalonians 5:17). Was Paul for real? Is it even possible to pray without ceasing? To give thanks for everything? I believe he was deeply sincere in writing these words. What’s more, I think he was right on target, especially when it comes to giving thanks for everything in our lives.
I learned this the hard way, by keeping a gratitude journal for a year. What seemed at first blush to be a sweet little exercise soon turned into a monumental task as the year unfolded in deeply painful ways. I lost my job. We had to sell a home we had only owned for ten months, thereby losing a great deal of money. I had to let go of our son as he headed off to college in New York, and yank our daughter out of yet another school in order to move once again. On top of it all, I was still grieving a loss in our family. Finding something for which to be grateful each day became a huge challenge.
Looking back, I now consider that year as one of the most grace-filled of my life. It was difficult, to be sure, but the loss of my job put me on a path back into ministry and eventually into my current role with Sadlier as a writer and consultant. I saw our son and daughter graduate in due time, knowing that we had given them our full support despite the difficulties we faced as a family. And grief eventually gave way to peace as I recognized the many gifts that emerged from our loss.
In one of my journal reflections, I wrote about the way gratitude can spring from the most difficult circumstances. “Essentially I don’t believe gratitude that is sincere, that is heartfelt, can come on its own. It really must find its deepest roots in the pain and suffering of life. Only the drowning person can truly be grateful for the gift of air.”
This Thanksgiving, I have so much for which to be grateful. Life continues to present challenges, which I tackle in uneven ways. I take Paul at his word. Giving thanks for everything is a grace-full way to live.
Bright Ideas
Here are three ways to “give thanks for everything:”
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Engage your children or students in a game of gratitude. Give them one minute to come up with five things they have seen or experienced that day for which they are grateful. Talk about the diversity of responses, and how they trigger more ways to give thanks.
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Start a gratitude journal as a family or class. Before saying grace or beginning your class prayer, compile the entries for the day. At the end of a week or a month, read the entries aloud. Give thanks for the many reasons to give thanks!
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Download and share my A Prayer For Thanksgiving prayer cards
photo © iStockphoto