Roman philosopher Cicero (106 BC - 43 BC) wrote, Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others. We may object that love is the greatest, but, there is much truth to gratitude's generative prowess.
Gratitude is a great virtue of freedom. When I am grateful I tend not to cling to this or that. The this or that can be material things. They often have a hold on one because she thinks they will make her happy or at least be in the "in" crowd. In reality they have no power to bring life or happiness. They are immaterial matter which cannot bring joy or peace. They can bring relief or comfort which may help one find a peace, but in the end there is no power or joy.
Gratitude helps me let go of things such as opinions. Sometimes he will hold on to an opinion because he thinks it gives him power over another or puts him in a superior position. It does not! A grateful person realizes that all truth comes from God and it leads back to God. Gratitude opens the mind and heart to expand his truth in order to accept more truth.
Many have heard me say that the more you know, the dumber you will become and the smarter you will act. It doesn't seem to make sense. Remember that the more you know, the more you know you don't know and the more grateful you will be for what you do know. Very smart people KNOW there is so much more to learn. They have not and cannot get to all knowledge. Knowing that, they begin to appreciate the vastness of the universe and a spirit of gratitude begins to arise. That gratitude frees them to consider more than what they know before acting and hence act smarter that when they thought they knew enough.
Gratitude, it's a lot more important than we thought.
we at svdp aren't grateful? you aren't grateful?
ReplyDeleteI personally am grateful for having come into the church in the middle 70s. Not raised on the Latin, then, but I have come to appreciate it, grateful for the musical legacy. have lots of CDs of it. So it brings me to this...I find myself annoyed by the Latin we do use in the masses at church, and it reminds me so much of what Revelation 3:16 says about being lukewarm. SVDP is lukewarm. The little bit of Latin we use, in responses, is a measure, in my humble opinion, of lukewarmth. I thought we might go back to total English after Lent but no, we hang on to these threads...why? Is this a prelude to total commitment to a Latin Mass to come, or ...what? Don't you make the final decision on all liturgical aspects of worship at our church? Have you polled people on what they want in regards to the level of Latin participation? I would be grateful for an end to the tapdance, to go forward to just pull out. Just sayin'...
Barbara Shaidnagle (since you don't care for anonymity)
Barbara:
ReplyDeleteI apologize for the tardiness of this reply. The little bit of Latin we use is a "nod" to the tradition of our liturgy. It is a small way of honoring our past. There are no plans to return to full Latin Mass. I will keep your comments in mind as we discuss liturgical matters with our staff.
Thank you