The virtue of gratitude.

The virtue of gratitude.
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Humility is the queen of virtues and gratitude is her twin sister.

Both the virtues always go together.

One who is humble accepts that whatever good he has is not his, but God's gift to him.

So he feels thankful to God.

“It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks, Father most holy.”

These prayerful words are from the Eucharistic prayer of the Holy  Mass.

It always right and just to be thankful to God.

It is our duty too.

Lucifer, once a magnificent angel of light, fell from heaven due to his pride.

Rebellion and ingratitude are cousins of pride.

For what should we be grateful?

For whatever good we have and for whatever happens to us.

We must be thankful to God in all situations.

"Give thanks upon all occasions; this is what God expects of you all in Christ Jesus."(1Thessalonians5:18)

Whatever is not against God is good.

None of the created things is against God.

We should not compare what we have with what  others have.

We should be grateful for what  we have.

Are we rich?  Let us thank God.

Are we poor? Let us thank God.

Neither richness nor poorness should decide our gratitude. 

It is God's Providence for us that should make us  grateful to Him.

We should be thankful for whatever happens to us, because whatever happens happens according to the will of God.

The worst thing, according to the world, is death.

But spiritually it is the best thing as it is the only gateway to Heaven.

Can there a better thing than this best thing?

We must always keep in mind that it was by His death that Jesus is giving us salvation.

Just as we thank God before and after meals, we must be thankful at the time of starvation also.

We must  accept success and failure with equal mental disposition,

which means,

we must accept both success and failure with equal thankfulness.

Apostle Paul reminds us to “Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

I know a boy who could not pass even his E. S. L. C. (viii th.std) exam in spite of his hard work  and hence could not continue his studies further.

But he accepted it as a blessing from God.

In later years he proved to be a successful farmer.

When we give thanks, we express  our confidence in God. 

When we give thanks, we realize that God is always  with us.

When we give thanks, we accept the will  God to be done in us.

Gratitude is a powerful weapon against evil spirits.

It is easy for grateful people to overcome temptations.

Because one who is grateful to God always bears Him in his heart and His presence in him will easily overcome all the temptations.

So let us be thankful to God because He is good and can do only good.

Lourdu Selvam.