Dom Gregory Corcoran, Sunday 28

28C Q 22
Gratitude is a wonderful thing, it is an emotion that stirs up all that is best in us,
happiness, readiness to reach out to others, and eagerness to use the gift. Gratitude is the
song of the heart, ingratitude, a marble hearted fiend. Also, we say so tritely:it’s nice to be
thanked. I remember in the days of steam trains we used to thank the engine driver, as he
stood with his fireman high up on the footplate of some great locomotive. It is good that
we bus users on the Island thank the bus driver when we leave the bus. Little courtesies are
important.
Gratitude needs to be a dominant feature of our spiritual life. It is an essential element in
our relationship with God. Ingratitude is the greatest hindrance to our progress towards
God What we are able to achieve in our lives, we do with the gifts he has bestowed on us,
gifts of nature and gifts of grace. We got off with a good start in our Mass this morning
with the entry chant expressing our gratitude to God for his forgiveness. We know that the
grace of repentance was won for us by the blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. It is of the
utmost importance that we remember that avoidance of sin is only possible for us with the
help of his grace: if we fail to acknowledge that grace and attribute the victory to ourselves
we are guilty of pride. Pride is the root of all sin, and its presence unacknowledged bring
some nasty shocks. With luck, humiliating shocks.
The first two readings help us enter more fully into the importance of gratitude. In the
sequel to the cleansing of Naaman. Elisha refused any present from him, but his servant
Gehazi chased after the departing general and asked deceitfully for something. For his
covetousness he became heir to Naaman’s leprosy. We are reminded that we don’t do good
deeds to be thanked or for earthly rewards, but we use God’s gifts joyfully for the good of
our neighbour. We receive freely and are commanded to give freely. Avarice will soon
follow where there is ingratitude.
God’s fidelity is one of the great themes of the psalms. He is the God of truth: though
we are faithless he remains faithful. Even so, God invites us, the Holy Spirit inspires us, to
make lifelong commitments, in our baptism, marriage religious and priestly vows. God, by
his gifts, grants us to attain some poor reflection of his fidelity. For this we give thanks,
and in giving thanks we receive the grace of God more abundantly. Just as we receive the
food we need for the body each day, so we receive the graces we need to fulfil the duties of
our state of life day by day. In this context, and especially in a world where famine is
coming ever closer to tens of millions, let us be mindful that a practical way of showing
gratitude for our daily bread is to take care that none of it is wasted. There was no waste
when the five thousand were fed: all the scraps were gathered up. In these difficult times
let us remember that Our Lord warns us against anxiety. We are worth more than the
sparrows. By way of conclusion I invite you to use the beautiful prayer that is placed on
the lips of monks who have the joy of celebrating the jubilee of their profession: Joyfully
grateful for the time that has gone by, I look to the future with humble confidence.