Week Beginning August 17, 2025
Gratitude for Our Bounty
The act of giving thanks for our nourishment has been a universal tradition as long as food has been a necessity for life. It is fitting to take a moment before or after we eat to express gratitude to God for the sustenance provided to us, for the animals and plants sacrificed in the process, and for the people who contributed to the preparation of the meal. Before refrigeration and pasteurization, blessing food was also considered a method of purification. “You shall serve the Lord, your God; then he will bless your food and drink, and I will remove sickness from your midst” (Exodus 23:25).
When we say grace before a meal, we are imitating Jesus Christ. The Gospel teaches us that Jesus gives a blessing before breaking bread (Mark 14:22, Matthew 14:19, Matthew 15:36, Matthew 26:26–28, Luke 22:19, Luke 24:30, John 6:11). Pausing for prayer at mealtime allows us to take a moment to humble ourselves, thank God for His gifts, and acknowledge His providence. When we share that special time with our loved ones, we strengthen our bonds of fellowship and build unity through our communion with God and with each other.
Saint Paul expands the concept of saying grace before meals to include giving thanks for all of our bounty. “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). G. K. Chesterton concurs: “You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink.”
It is too common to take our privilege for granted and to neglect thanking God. We become busy, distracted, and rushed. Our focus slips away from Our Creator. That is precisely the time to re-orient ourselves toward the Lord.
This week, challenge yourself to say a quiet prayer of thanksgiving every time you enjoy something God shares with you. When you participate in communal meals, invite your fellow diners to join you in saying grace. This simple act can transform your ordinary meal into a celebration of gratitude for the food before you, the friends and family beside you, the love surrounding you, and the goodness of God Who is always with you.
Week Beginning August 10, 2025
Gratitude Morning and Night
“It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praise to your name, Most High, to proclaim your love at daybreak, your faithfulness in the night” (Psalm 92:2-3). Establish a routine to proclaim praise and thanksgiving when you rise and when you rest.
The Venerable Fulton Sheen says, “There are two ways of waking up in the morning. One is to say, ‘Good morning, God,’ and the other is to say, ‘Good God, morning’!” Embrace each morning as an opportunity to thank God for the gift of another day on earth and for all the wonderful possibilities that await us. By seeking God in the morning, we are better able to discern His direction for us and to establish our readiness to do His will throughout the day. When we offer our gratitude to God in the morning, we give Him our “first fruits” by reserving the first portion of the day for Him.
Welcoming God into our lives every morning sets us up for a joyful and peaceful day. “Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).
As we prepare to retire for the evening, we also acknowledge God for our blessings. We offer thanksgiving for the good things that happen, we contemplate how we can better imitate Jesus Christ in the situations we encounter, and we endeavor to accept and learn from our trials. Recognizing humbly that we are merely servants of the Lord, we reward him with thanks before we reward ourselves with rest. We extend our gratitude to God, and we trust that He protects us throughout the night.
This week, make an effort each morning and night to appreciate everything God gives to us. Consider waking up early to recite morning prayers, meditate, read scripture, sing hymns, attend Mass, adore the Blessed Sacrament, pray the Rosary, or simply offer heartfelt thanks. Ask for God’s guidance throughout the day, and invite Him into everything you do. Continue the practice before you go to sleep by reflecting upon your experiences, examining your conscience, and making an act of contrition. Where did you feel His presence? How can you better engage in His plan for you? The Reverend Thomas Merton reminds us: “To be grateful is to recognize the love of God in everything.”
Embrace the words of Pope Saint John Paul II, “Remember the past with gratitude. Live the present with enthusiasm. Look forward to the future with confidence.”
Week Beginning August 3, 2025
Gratitude When We Praise God
When we pray, praise is fittingly accompanied by thanksgiving. “Therefore, our God, we give you thanks and we praise the majesty of your name” (1 Chronicles 29:13). While praise is the form of prayer which recognizes, lauds, and glorifies God for His sake, thanksgiving is the form of prayer which expresses our gratitude for what God does.
In fact, the Greek word expressing thanks is at the center of our Christian worship. When Jesus institutes the Eucharist–deriving from the Greek eucharistia meaning “thanksgiving”–he establishes it as an act of thanks. The two substances of bread and wine are also intended as symbols of gratitude. As foreshadowing to the covenant Jesus seals with his flesh and blood on the night before his crucifixion, the Priest Melchizedek offers bread and wine to thank God the Creator when he bestows blessings upon Abraham (Genesis 14:18-20).
Our entire Mass is a prayer of thanksgiving. In their document The Mystery of the Eucharist in the Life of the Church, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops states: “To worship God on Sundays, then, is not the mere observance of a rule but the fulfillment of our identity, of who we are as members of the Body of Christ. Participation in the Mass is an act of love.”
Considering that Jesus Christ gives his entire body, blood, soul, and divinity to us, the just response is to offer ourselves in thanksgiving to him. Saint Peter Julian writes, “Belong entirely to God through love, entirely to your neighbor through a gracious charity, entirely to the divine Eucharist by the offering and sacrifice of your whole self.”
When you receive and adore the Most Blessed Sacrament, appreciate the tremendous privilege we have to join our thanks with Christ’s sacrificial offering and to unite in communion with God and with one another. Use those precious moments after you receive Holy Communion to revere Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist and to express your love and thanksgiving to him. Saint John Vianney describes, “When we leave the altar rails we are as happy as the Magi would have been if they had been able to carry off the Infant Jesus.”
This week, share your gratitude every time you praise and petition God through prayer. Treat each and every Sunday, the Lord’s Day, like a holiday of thanksgiving. Rather than focusing on what you can get from attending Mass, focus on what you can give–specifically, your gratitude to God. Rejoice in the words we recite at Mass: “Thanks be to God!”
