Thanksgiving
O God,
Thank you for all of the blessings of life.
Forgive us when we are careless about how we think about those blessings. Forgive us when we let ourselves nurture a sense of entitlement or develop a sense of pride. Never let us forget that you cause the rain to fall on the just and the unjust and so our reception of natural and material blessings proves nothing about our character and says nothing about our worthiness.
Help us instead to develop true gratitude; help us to remember that no matter how hard we work for what we have or no matter how unexpected our success has been, we finally would be nothing and have nothing apart from your grace.
Let our gratitude be expressed in the practical thanksgiving of generosity; let us be inspired by what we have been given to give in return.
Let our thanksgiving be a whole-hearted thanksgiving but at the same time let it be a restless thanksgiving; let our gratitude be a sincere gratitude but at the same time let it be an uneasy gratitude; let our satisfaction be a thorough satisfaction but at the same time let it be an incomplete satisfaction.
Let us not be at ease so long as there is anyone who does not have the blessings that we have. Give us a perpetual desire and willingness to do what we can to help anyone that we can help; give us courage to work to overcome the powers and to change the structures that keep people from knowing the basic blessings of life.
Thank you for all the blessings of life.
Please give those who lack them the same blessings.
As we look forward to that time when we will all be blessed in your eternal presence, let us do all that we can to move closer to a situation here and now in which we can celebrate together our mutual reception of the blessings of life.
After all, we are already here together and you are already here with us …
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment