Dear children, I am calling you to a complete surrender to God. Let everything that you possess be in the hands of God. Only in that way shall you have joy in your heart. Little children, rejoice in everything that you have and give thanks to God because everything is God's gift to you. That way in your life you should be able to give thanks for everything and discover God in everything, even the smallest flower. (…). Our Lady of Medjugorie, April 25, 1989. Words from Heaven, P.253-4.
(…) thank Jesus for what you want. My Son will hear you. Our Lady of Medjugorie, February 13, 1989. Words from Heaven, P.294.
(…) Sit down in your room and say to Jesus: 'Thank you.' (…) If in the evening you fall asleep in peace and in prayer, in the morning you will wake up thinking of Jesus. You will be able to pray for peace; but if you fall asleep in distraction, the day after will be misty, and you will forget even to pray that day. Our Lady of Medjugorie, October 30, 1983. Words from Heaven, P.349.
The Net of Gratitude
Giving thanks for abundance
is sweeter than the abundance itself:
Should one who is absorbed with the Generous One
be distracted by the gift?
Thankfulness is the soul of beneficence;
abundance is but the husk,
for thankfulness brings you to the place where the Beloved lives.
Abundance yields heedlessness;
thankfulness brings alertness:
hunt for bounty with the net of gratitude.
Rumi, Mathnawi III, 2895-2897, quoted in: Kabir Helminski, editor: "The Rumi Collection," Shambhala, Boston & London, 2000, P. 59
O brother, Wisdom is pouring into you
from the beloved saint of God.
You've only borrowed it.
Although the house of your heart
is lit from inside,
that light is lent by a luminous neighbor.
Give thanks; don't be arrogant or vain;
pay attention without self-importance.
(...)
Rumi, Mathnawi I, 3255-3257, quoted in: Helminski, Kabir (2000). The Rumi Collection. P.127.
This, my son, is how you should begin your life according to God. You should continually and unceasingly call to mind all the blessings which God in His love has bestowed upon you in the past, and still bestows for the salvation of your soul. (...) Thus the soul recalls the blessings of God's love which it has received from the moment it came into existence: how it has often been delivered from dangers; how in spite of having often fallen by its own free choice into great evils and sins, it was not justly given up for destruction and death at the hands of the spirits of deception; and how God with long-suffering overlooked its offences and protected it, awaiting its returns. (...) Can any man consciously call these things to mind and not be moved always to contrition of heart? (...) he will say to himself: 'Though i have done nothing good and have committed many sins before Him, living in uncleanness of the flesh and indulging in many other vices, yet he di not deal with me according to my sins, or reward me according to my iniquities (cf. Ps. 103:10), but gave me all these gifts of grace for my salvation. If, then, from now onwards I give myself completely to His service, living in all purity and acquiring the virtues, how many holy and spiritual gifts will he not grant me, strengthening me in every good work, guiding and leading me aright.' If a man always thinks in this way and does not forget God's blessings, he encourages and urges himself on to the practice of every virtue and of every righteous work, always ready, always eager to do the will of God. St. Mark the Ascetic (4th Century C.E.), quoted in: The Philokalia, Vol. I., P.148-9.
See the related subjects: Alertness, Charity, Grace, Human Love for God, Providence
Last update: 2007/01/14