Deo Gratias

"Dedicate yourselves to thankfulness." Colossians 3:12-17. "Count your blessings." "Thanks be to God!"

According to a meditation in my Living With Christ issue this month (p. 4), "The rule of St. Benedict prescribes that the doorkeeper should say "Deo Gracias" whenever a stranger knocks at the door or a beggar asks for assistance."

I am reminded of something my friend Sunny told me recently: "I always tell my grandkids (and I practice it myself) to try to remember three things to be grateful for before you go to bed each  night. That way, you practice thinking of yourself as blessed."

A byword for the Communion and Liberation movement is "positivity." The way I read this is that, to one who has eyes to see, Christ is found in all situations, from intense suffering to intense joy. Since Christ is in all things, all things have meaning and there is no need to despair. "Do not fear, for I am with you." Isa. 41:10. "I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Mt. 28:20.

The meditation asks that we give thanks for the "beggar at the door," that is, for anyone who interrupts our day, our routine, out of need. Deo Gratias that we are needed! Let us even count as positivity our own neediness as we thank God for our opportunity to help others in need.

Practicing counting our blessings helps us see how blessed we are. Practicing this "way of life" leads to life in full, and to being a blessing for others. So, in this way, do God's blessings flow.

Listen to Ockeghem's Deo Gratias.