WITH GRATEFUL HEARTS

WITH GRATEFUL HEARTS

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.

Be in your prayer space, follow the usual steps and settle into silence.

Sit still…..Relax…….Do not rush………

Take a couple of gentle, slow and deep breaths…becoming aware of your breath going in and out… stay focused on this breath of life……

Now I invite you to consecrate this day and all that comes with this day….in your own way, in humble, simple, may be even inadequate words………..

Pray with me as you begin this meditation….

Enter his temple gates with praise,
And his courts with thanksgiving!

Give thanks to him, bless his name!
For the Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever,
And his faithfulness to all generations. (Psalm 100 )

Heavenly Father,

We praise You and thank You today for your abundant blessings.
You have blessed us with freedom to be, to work and to worship.

You have strengthened us in time of trial and supported us in adversity.

Remind us to be humble in our abundance,

Help us remember the sacrifice of those who have gone before us.
Let their example remind us to always be thankful,

to always surrender to your plan and purpose for us.

We give you thanks, O Lord,

for Your gift of Yourself, for your gift of our life,
for your gift of our faith, our health, our family, our friends our Church and our country.

Prayerfully reflect on the following…..

Dedicate Yourselves to Thankfulness. (Col 3:15)

I thank God as I take you in prayer…….. (Philemon    4 -7)

For these I pray…… (John 17:9)

I pray also for those who will believe… (John17:20)

Sing and play music in your hearts to the Lord, always giving thanks for everything to

God the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 5:19-20J

Gratitude is my “return gift” and it’s always there, waiting in my heart!

Begin again and Pray with me….

Loving and glorious God,

Today, I thank you for the many things I often take for granted:

the air I breathe, the water I drink, supermarkets filled to overflowing;

the ability to walk, talk, see, hear, smell, and to work and earn a living.

Dear Lord, where would I be without the gift of my family and friends and all those reliable and dependable people who serve me daily? I thank you today for their presence in my life. I thank you for the gifts you have given to each one. I thank you for the many ways in which they touch my life. I thank you for their laughter, their encouragement and their support. I thank you for every experience I have shared with them, whether good or bad, happy or sad, their presence in my life has made me a better person. Thank-you!

• We are grateful for eyes that can see and ponder, for taste buds that know the pleasures of eating and drinking, for hands that hold and touch and feel, for ears that can delight in music and the voice of a friend, for a nose that can smell the aroma of newly mown grass or delicious food, and can also breathe the air that gives us life…….
  

• We are grateful for the treasure of loved ones whose hearts of openness and acceptance have encouraged us to be who we are. We are grateful for their faithfulness, for standing by us when our weaknesses stood out glaringly, for being there when we were most in need and for delighting with us in our good days and our joyful seasons…..
  

• We are grateful for the eyes of faith, giving us hope in our darkest days, encouraging us to listen to our spirit’s hunger, and reminding us to trust in God’s presence in our life……..
  

• We are grateful for the ongoing process of becoming who we are, for the seasons within, for the great adventure of life that challenges and comforts us at one and the same time….
  

• We are grateful for the messengers of God – people, events, written or spoken words – that came to us at just the right time and helped us to grow………….
  

• We re grateful for God calling us to work with our gifts, grateful that we can serve you by serving others, grateful that we can be of service to the world around us……
  

• We are grateful that we have the basic necessities of life, that we have the means and the ability to listen to the cries of the poor and respond with our abundance…
  

• We are grateful for the miracle of life, for the blessing of the earth that supports and sustains us, for the amazing grace and blessing of our history, for the men and women who gave us spirit and tradition, for today with new opportunities………..
  

Begin Again…

Let your gratitude become more personal, from the depth of your being………

Feelings of gratitude fills my heart today…moments of gratitude fills my life constantly…

It is for those who stood with me when my faith was “smaller” than a mustard seed, for those who shared my hopes, for those who taught me to love and loved me much in the process………..

It is for those who broke with me the kind of bread that fed my deepest hunger and filled my emptiness…….the kind of bread that filled my soul and nurtured my spirit…..

It is for those who poured out the wine of compassion and filled my cup……those who shared their cup with me and who dared to share my cup not knowing its taste………….

Everyday I take my friends in prayer – bring them into the sacred space. In re-membering, a “sacred connection” happens.

Re-member each person…….see each one……..sit with him/her..talk to each one…..pray with each one…….

Gather all your friends and loved ones and stay with them, celebrate with them, pray with them…………..Stay in their presence……..

This is a great moment. A sacred moment. A moment with God. A moment with friends and strangers in the company of God and God’s saints…………..Bless all these people.

Ask God to bless all these people of God’s earth…………….Name them if you can………See the faces of friends and strangers………………Bring them to God…Raise them up to God………….Carry them to God…………This is a sacred moment………..

Don’t get bogged down with words….with words or without words…just a name or just a face or just a glance…………that will do. Desire their good. This is a great moment. This is sacred moment. This is prayer moment…….This Moment of Gratitude!

Gratitude is the memory of the heart! Your gratitude will bless you and help you be and become hopeful, positive and optimistic – see each day, each month, each year as God’s gifts.

Abide in this moment of gratitude for some time

Fr. Gus Tharappel,msfs