Gratitude in Every Circumstance

“In all circumstances, give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18 

You may have heard of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini.  A movie about her life came out last spring and was at movie theaters nationwide.  Mother Cabrini was born in Italy and, at thirty years old, founded the order of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart.  Feeling called to be a missionary in China, Mother Cabrini visited Rome to obtain an audience with Pope Leo XIII and get his approval to go to China. Unexpectedly, Pope Leo told her to go “not to the East, but to the West, and instead of sending her to China, he sent her to New York City. Even though she thought God was calling her to be a missionary in China, Mother Cabrini was obedient and along with six sisters she came to New York in 1889.  In New York, they ministered to and served thousands of poor Italian immigrants.  Her ministry eventually expanded throughout the United States and South America.  She became a U.S. citizen and was the first American citizen to be canonized a saint.  Mother Cabrini and her sisters faced many difficulties and disappointments when they came to America, but as always with Mother Cabrini, perseverance and persistence in the Lord won out.  Life for Mother Cabrini was not easy; she was in poor health and suffered much of her life, but she was grateful that God allowed her to care for his people and to suffer for his glory. 

“In all circumstances, give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” Mother Cabrini lived this verse. 

The book of Titus tells us of the importance of being obedient to God, as Mother Cabrini was, emphasizing that our first act of obedience comes through baptism.  Baptism is how we become a Christian, and to go and make disciples through baptism was the final command Jesus gave to the Apostles.  Just before he ascended into heaven in Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus told the Apostles, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”   

Being obedient to Jesus’ command, in his letter to Titus, St. Paul tells us that in baptism, through Jesus, we are saved through the bath of rebirth, renewed by the Holy Spirit, justified by the grace of the sacrament, and made children of God, heirs to the Kingdom of God with our brother, Lord, and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

From the perspective of eternal life in heaven, these are amazing gifts from God, and you would think that this would be enough for us.  You would think that we could keep our eye on eternal life and not so much on our “here and now” needs.  However, in our fallen human condition, unless we have developed a very mature spiritual life, we will always want more.  We want an easy life filled with health and happiness, protected from all evil and anxiety and illness.  We want what we want when we want it, and usually, we want it now. 

Unfortunately, that’s not how life works. We all know that, and neither Jesus, St. Paul, nor any other biblical author tells us we will have a bliss filled life because we’re Christian.  They don’t say this because it’s not true, it would be a lie.  Now that doesn’t mean that we can’t have a happy life.  It means that we must realize that a happy, or dare I say a holy life, can only be lived in Jesus, with Jesus, and through Jesus, allowing him to guide, direct, protect, and heal us through all the messy circumstances we face in life.  One of the primary ways we do this is by participating in the Sacraments of the Church, he gave us, all of which convey his Sanctifying Grace.   

God’s Sanctifying Grace puts us in a state in which God allows us to share in his life and love.  Sanctifying Grace is the grace that saves us.  Chapter 2003 of the Catechism says, “Sanctifying Grace is first and foremost the gift of the Spirit who justifies and sanctifies us.”  We receive this grace for the first time when we are baptized and are permanently marked as children of God. 

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the power of the Sanctifying Grace Jesus gives us through the Sacraments can’t be denied.  This gift from God is what makes us a Christian and sustains us in the Lord throughout our life.  That’s why the Sacraments are not an optional part of our faith; they are essential if we truly seek God’s will in our life, if we truly want to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and if we truly want to know, love, and, serve God, uniting ourselves to him and sharing in his life and love for eternity.  

My friends, this is the grace that gives us the spiritual strength to live the life St. Paul wrote about to the Thessalonians when he said, “In all circumstances, give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.”   Amen!