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Day 41 (6th Saturday of the Holy Great Fast)

“…in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thes 5:18)

“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 ( 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 centre 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.’ The apostolic scriptures and the lives of the saints abound with thanksgiving to God for all things.

The spiritual person has thanksgiving and gratitude in all circumstances, in everything and for everything. This thanksgiving is rooted in the firm conviction of God’s merciful providence and care in all things, in the steadfast faith that ‘everything works together for good to those who love God’ (Rom 8:28).

The spiritual man does not thank God only for what he considers to be good. Rather, he thanks God for everything, even for what appears to be bad, knowing that God’s tender care is over all, and that the evil in this world—which is always present and inevitable—can itself be the vehicle for spiritual growth and salvation if rightly understood and overcome by the grace of God.

The opposite of gratitude is bitterness and complaining; it is bemoaning one’s lot in life because of pride and covetousness. It is caused by the absence of humble trust in 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.”

6th Saturday of the Holy Great Fast

• (Day 41) Struggle to attain Gratitude
• (Day 40) Struggle to attain Kindness
• (Day 39) Struggle to attain Faithfulness
• (Day 38) Struggle to attain Patience
• (Day 37) Struggle to attain Honesty
• (Day 36) Seek to attain Virtues
• (Day 35) Sunday of the Healing of the Paralytic
• (Day 34) Keep striving
• (Day 33) Learn from mistakes
• (Day 32) Know Yourself
• (Day 31) Steps to Repentance
• (Day 30) Do Not Despair
• (Day 29) Return to God, to one’s self, to life
• (Day 28) Sunday of the Samaritan Woman
• (Day 27) Pray before sleeping
• (Day 26) Persevere
• (Day 25) Give yourself to prayer
• (Day 24) Pray without ceasing
• (Day 23) Meet God early in the morning
• (Day 22) Pray with humility, hope, love…
• (Day 21) Sunday of the Parable of the Lost Son
• (Day 20) Attribute all good things to God
• (Day 19) Place yourself in the hand of God
• (Day 18) Ask God to strengthen your weakness
• (Day 17) Know your spiritual poverty
• (Day 16) Don’t be deceived by praise (ii)
• (Day 15) Don’t be deceived by praise (i)
• (Day 14) Sunday of the Temptation in the Wilderness
• (Day 13) Love your enemy
• (Day 12) Serve others without partiality
• (Day 11) Serve others
• (Day 10) Love your neighbor as yourself (ii)
• (Day 9) Love your neighbor as yourself
• (Day 8) Through your love for God
• (Day 7) Sunday - Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness
• (Day 6) Give your heart to God
• (Day 5) Make God Himself your way
• (Day 4) How? Seek to grow in the likeness of God
• (Day 3) How? Unite with God through prayer 
• (Day 2) How? Fulfill the will of God
• (Day 1) How? Be devoted to God
• How To Live a Holy Life (The Holy Great Fast 2018)