"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."
— Colossians 3:17
"When you go to bed with a contented mind, recall the blessings and generous providence of God; be filled with holy thoughts and great joy."
— St. Anthony the Great
St. Paul challenges us to practice giving thanks to God, and our beloved St. Anthony's words implore us to have a peaceful and contented mind! We are called to filter the negative thoughts and to resist focusing on what is wrong with the world, what is broken in life, what needs fixing, and make time to cultivate a grateful heart.
One way that helps cultivate a grateful heart is to recite the amazing prayers of the Akathist Hymn "Glory to God for All Things." I would like to offer a few excerpts of these fantastic prayers for us to contemplate and hold close to our heart.
Everlasting King, Your will, for our salvation, is full of power. Your right arm controls the whole course of human life. We give thanks to You for all Your mercies, seen and unseen, for eternal life, and for the heavenly joys of the Kingdom which is to come.
From birth until now Lord, your love has illumined our path and has wondrously guided us towards the light of eternity. From birth to now, your generous gifts have been marvelously showered upon us and we give thanks for these.
Glory to You O Lord for calling us into being, it is lovely to be Your guest on earth, and we give Glory to You for showing us the beauty of the universe. The breeze full of scents, mountains reaching to the skies, waters like boundless mirrors reflecting the sun's golden rays and scudding clouds.
Glory to You for the feast of the day! Glory to You for the perfume of the lilies and roses. Glory to You for the taste of berries and fruits, the sparkling silver of morning dew and for the joy that each new day brings!
May these prayers inspire us to open our hearts towards the attitude and power of gratefulness. And may this power of gratitude overflow into blessings all around us, meeting everyone with peace and kindness. As St. Paul says in Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."
We can have this attitude of gratitude when we realize that we have a choice! The remarkable thing in life is that we can choose to complain, judge, be angry, or we can choose to be loving, humble and gracious! This kind of attitude creates space for miracles, this attitude joins forces with the Holy Spirit and becomes revolutionary, infectious and transformative.
So let's not allow the celebrations of this season—the Presentation of our Lord's mother to the Temple, Thanksgiving, or our Lord's Nativity—to come and go without thinking and meditating about how God's abundant grace changes life! It restores and resurrects us to become partakers of God's divine nature (II Peter 1:4).
Especially during these Holy Days of the Advent season, let's begin each morning by opening our eyes and realizing: this is not just another day, it's a gift! Each day is a free gift offered to us by God. And we need to open the eyes of our heart to experience that amazing gift of grace and life.
Make time to cultivate this gift by truly opening the eyes of our heart in prayer and become surprised that we have five senses that allow us to experience this gift! Be mindful and attentive to the prayer we offer to Christ so we can become the prayer we offer to Christ.
Prayer is a state of continual gratitude. If we do not feel a sense of joy in God's creation, if we forget to offer the world back to God with thankfulness, we have advanced very little upon the Way. We have not yet learned to be truly human. For it is only through thanksgiving that we can become ourself. —St. John Kronstadt
As your priest, I ask that we all rededicate our life to Jesus Christ and make time to clean our souls through confession. Make time to be in relationship with God through prayer and reading His word. Make time to come to His Holy Temple to worship as a family. Make time to become vessels of the Holy Spirit reflecting His love and peace in all things.
Let us all strive to encourage and support one another, as we "commit ourselves and one another and our whole life to Christ our God." May our advent journey be life-changing as we prepare to receive Christ in our heart with great enthusiasm!
+Fr. Tom
Originally published in the Holy Apostles E-bulletin. Subscribe here.
