Halleluiah! Praise the Lord! Lord of Hope! Our Redeemer! God of all Wisdom! The Most Miraculous God! The Healer! Creator of Heaven and Earth! These are the utterances of the Evangelists, Preachers, Prayer Leaders. Foolish! It's nothing but a drama! These how I described them before when I knew nothing about the goodness of praising and worshiping Jesus. I did not know why it had been irritating me when witnessing those praises on TV and over the radio. The more that it infuriates me when it is accompanied by yelling and burst of cries. In short, I vomited this out!
But you know what? God showed me the way choosing
the "foolishness of men" to shame my arrogance. The Divine Mercy had opened the Heaven’s door towards realization of the goodness of appreciation
when one day it became a natural feeling of joy when He placed me on the actual
where my emotion was really uncontrollably high.
At that impulse, I could not figure out what sort
of miracle was it that softened my heart. The only thing I could remember was
the extreme joyful feeling for God because of the great uproar that seemingly
shook the area because of the praises. I was happy for Jesus watching the whole
congregation yelling in praises.
Like the evangelist, preachers, prayers leaders, I
don't mind whether they call me foolish or overreacting. Believe me, even at
the house before the prayer begins, there are times that raising my hands
becomes spontaneous because of the abounding gratitude for that grace that
multiplied back then up to this time. I just don't know if I'm offending God
once I take my hands off when somebody would open the door while I'm on a lotus
position because I don't want that my loved ones see what I'm actually doing.
I'm preventing them not to call me crazy although I'm really crazy, not for
anything else but for the Lord, because of the immeasurable grace and mercy
that I've been receiving and enjoying with my family since the beginning which
unnoticeably failed to recognize because of spiritual blindness, up to this
time of a wonderful life of perseverance and endurance despite my present unemployment.
It's ironic that the dog could express its constant gratitude through
affection, loyalty and recognition while human with complete set of faculty
(mind, hear and conscience) finds it so hard.
Does saying a gratitude which is only less than a ten-letter word burn calorie? Can we judge these people who are naturally less thankful than others?
For people who have the difficulty or inability to be appreciative, there are 3
root causes for such an imperfection:[1]
- Envy. One who suffers from envy walks through
life painfully obsessed by the advantages which others are enjoying. Their
will to attain the same benefit causes aversion which leads to
unhappiness. Comparing with others’ possession hinder to appreciate our
live’s blessings which results to jealousy, discontentment and
dissatisfaction.
- Entitlement. One who feels he/she
deserves certain privileges, benefits or advantages has the tendency to be
dissatisfied when not getting from his significant others the thing he/she
feels worthy of.
- Expectation. There are circumstances along the way wherein we others to read our mind, or prioritize us instead of others because of benefit that they’re getting from us. For example, when you give an expensive gift to someone and you don’t receive something of the same value or even more in return, bitterness can be seen on the surface resulting the inability to be praiseful of the good things in life.
1 Timothy 6:3-5 Whoever teaches something different and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the religious teaching is conceited, understanding nothing, and has a morbid disposition for arguments and verbal disputes. From these come envy, rivalry, insults, evil suspicions, and mutual friction among people with corrupted minds, who are deprived of the truth, supposing religion to be a means of gain.
So how do we conquer these envy,
entitlement and expectation as root causes of ingratitude. We can replace
it by thankfulness and spirit of genuine appreciation for all that this life
has to offer. If you’re a couple, share each other an irrevocable love,
love that sustains and supports.[2] As a citizen of the country, the duty of obedience
requires all give due honor to
authority and to treat those who are charged to exercise it with respect, and,
insofar as it is deserved, with gratitude and good-will. Honor, affection and
gratitude towards elders and ancestors are required, which is extended to the
duties of pupils to teachers, employees to employers, subordinates to leaders,
citizens to their country, and to those who administer or govern it, and vice
versa.[3]
As siblings, filial piety towards parents can be
articulated by honoring them with all our hearts and do not forget the birth pangs of our mother. Remember that through
our parents we were born; what can we give back to them that equals their gift
to you?"[4] As
much as we can, we must give them material and moral support in old age
and in times of illness, loneliness, or distress. Jesus recalls this duty of
gratitude.[5]
Sirach 7:27-28 With your whole heart honor
your father; your mother's birthpangs forget not. Remember, of these parents
you were born; what can you give them for all they gave you?
Sirach 3:2-6 For the LORD sets a father in
honor over his children; a mother's authority he confirms over her sons. He who
honors his father atones for sins; he stores up riches who reveres his mother.
He who honors his father is gladdened by children, and when he prays he is
heard. He who reveres his father will live a long life; he obeys the LORD who
brings comfort to his mother.
Sirach 3:12-13 My son, take care of your
father when he is old; grieve him not as long as he lives. Even if his mind
fail, be considerate with him; revile him not in the fullness of your strength.
Sirach 3:16 A blasphemer is he who despises
his father; accursed of his Creator, he who angers his mother.
A special gratitude should also be
given to those
from whom we have received the gift of faith, the grace of Baptism, and life in
the Church. These may include parents, grandparents, other members of the
family, pastors, catechists, and other teachers or friends.[6]
2 Timothy 1:5 as I recall your sincere faith
that first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and that I
am confident lives also in you.
Most of all, we
are encouraged to develop the duty of honoring and loving Christ our Lord with
the worship of adoration by visiting the Blessed Sacrament where He is present
in the Sacrament of the altar[7];
expressing the sanctifying presence of God: washing and anointing, breaking and
sharing the cup as true signs and symbols taken from the social life of man[8];
partaking the Eucharist as a sign of grateful acknowledgement to the Creator[9]
and sacrifice of praise by which the Church sings glory of God in the name of
all creation which is only possible through Christ whom unites the faithful to
His person, to his praise and to His intercession so that the sacrifice of
praise to the Father is offered through Christ and with Him, to be accepted in
Him;[10]
moral existence as acknowledgement, homage, worship of thanksgiving and
cooperation with the plan of God pursues in history[11];
adoring God as acknowledgement, respect, praise, exaltation and humility (Luke
1:46-55) just like how Mary
did in the Magnificat and
absolute submission that the “nothingness of the creature” would not exist but
for God which sets us free from turning on ourselves from the slavery of sin
and the idolatry of the world;[12]
and offering sacrifice to God as a sign of adoration and gratitude,
supplication and communion: "Every action done so as to cling to God in
communion of holiness, and thus achieve blessedness, is a true sacrifice."[13]
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