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This month, FOCUS is preparing for GRATITUDE TUESDAY on November 27th.
You might be asking “what is Gratitude Tuesday?”
You are probably more familiar with observing “Giving Tuesday,” the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, which has become a mainstream day of giving . On giving Tuesday people who have spent the past hectic days navigating black Friday crowds, and speed shopping during online-only-flash-sale frenzies, are encouraged to give back.
Don’t get us wrong – as a nonprofit, we love the idea of giving Tuesday! But, while reflecting on this nationally observed day of giving, we realized maybe this time a pause is more important than another push…
and just like that, Gratitude Tuesday was born!
On Gratitude Tuesday, we want to recognize the simple gifts we can give to each other every day.
The virtues of faith, hope, knowledge, wisdom, honesty, humility, obedience, patience, courage, faithfulness, self-control, kindness, and gratitude are all gifts God gave to us by becoming man to help us live more like Him.
“Generally speaking, all of the human virtues are attributes of God Himself. They are the characteristics of Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God in human flesh. They are the divine properties which should be in all human persons by the gift of God in creation and salvation through Christ. (The Virtues)
As we approach Advent, and our anticipation of the miracle of Christ’s Nativity draws closer, we all need to work hard to embody the virtues, starting with gratitude!
The spiritual person is the one who is grateful for everything. He is the one who receives everything with thanksgiving, and who knows that he has nothing except what he has received from God (cf. Jn 3.27).
In the Old Testament, thanksgiving was central in the life of God’s people. The temple liturgy offered sacrifices of thanksgiving and praise, and psalms sang continually of thanksgiving to God.
In the New Testament, thanksgiving is the very essence of the Church’s life. The word eucharist means thanksgiving, and the very center of the Church’s liturgical worship of God is when, in remembrance of all His saving acts in Christ, the faithful “lift up their hearts” and “give thanks unto the Lord.”
To thank God in everything and for everything is the result of faith and faithfulness in God. It is the result of absolute trust in the Lord who knows best what we need for our salvation and does all that He can within the evil conditions of the world to bring us to eternal life, to peace and to joy.” (The Virtues)
Keep in touch (click subscribe – top right of this pate) because leading up to Gratitude Tuesday on November 27th, we have planned some ways to say thank you, and show how grateful we are to have you in our community! Stay tuned, and join us in adopting an “attitude of gratitude” as we all work towards embracing the spiritual virtues.
