A closer look at gratitude

10-13-2019Weekly ReflectionFather Prince Raja

During the Ordinary Time of the year, for Sunday liturgy we normally listen to a particular Gospel. This year we are listening to the Gospel of Luke. The first reading is selected from the Old Testament in such a way as to correspond to the gospel text, while the 2nd reading from the Epistles follows its own sequence. Today, the first reading and the gospel text have extraordinary similarities. Both are stories about lepers being healed; in both stories there are expressions of gratitude; and both are about outsiders!

Let us begin by looking at some of the interesting details in the gospel text of today so as to appreciate the context of the story, and then we can reflect a little deeper on the theme of gratitude.

A closer look at gratitude

What is gratitude? It is an awareness of, and appreciation for, the good things in our life and not taking them for granted. It is a spiritual attitude insofar as we accept whatever God offers. It is also strength of character that we can develop by acknowledging the role of other people in making our life possible and enjoyable.

The findings of contemporary psychology confirm the positive effects of gratitude on general well-being and happiness. I suggest three ways in which we can develop the character strength of gratitude.

  1. Write gratitude letters. Are there people who have played an important role in your life, and you have not expressed your gratitude to them explicitly? Why not write a letter of gratitude to them? A letter would be more meaningful than an email or a text. Research by psychologists has found that people who wrote a gratitude letter to someone they had never properly thanked were happier and less depressed one month later compared to those who had simply written about an early memory. You might want to consider writing a letter of gratitude to God too!
  2. Keep a gratitude journal. At the end of each day, or even once a week, think of writing three things that went well for you that day or week. Sometimes you could just write a prayer thanking God for that day or week. Mention some details. Again in a psychological experimental comparison, those who kept gratitude journals on a weekly basis enjoyed better physical health, felt better about their lives as a whole, and were more optimistic about the upcoming week compared to those who recorded hassles or neutral life events.
  3. Say 'thank you' on a regular basis during the day. Say 'thank you' to people around you. Say 'thank you' to God. More than the vocal expression of gratitude, the attitude is important. Again, children who practice grateful thinking showed more positive attitudes toward school and their families.

So, when your mind wants to focus on the dark side of things, look for a crack through which you can see the light. Perhaps that little ray through the crack could become for you the light of salvation.

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