“The signs of God’s grace surround us and lie within us. But we have our own idols that blind us to all the signs that give witness to the steadfast love of God. Yet the troubles of this world, the suffering of illness and grief, the attractions of this age, the temptations of greed, jealousy, and avarice, and the press of daily affairs conspire to hide the goodness of God from us. Further, in times of distress, we might even blame the Almighty and All-Merciful for our troubles. The remedy for this spirit of ingratitude is the healing of our spiritual sight so that we see the indications of God’s mercy wherever we look. Thus, we should pray for the gift of gratitude, the ability to perceive in all things, and all that happens the never-failing mercy of God.” (Fr. Basil)
“…gratitude is a way of knowing God,… “To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us – and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love; every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him. Gratitude, therefore, takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what makes all the difference.” (Fr. Basil, Thomas Merton)
“we need to…look into our own hearts. When we do, we see how quickly we, too, forget that everything we are had have comes from God. We must continually nurture the grace of gratitude in our hearts, and be eternally vigilant lest a sense of entitlement makes us into one of the lepers rather than the one who returned to express thanksgiving [Luke 17:17]. We must never forget that while God chooses to give us everything, He owes us nothing.” (Fr. Andrew Demostes)
“How many people turn to God when they are in trouble, or in need, yet when all goes well, they forget or ignore God. And the longer we dwell in comfort and prosperity, the more we deceive ourselves by thinking that we deserve all that we have! We may even feel that we have earned our blessings through hard work, great effort, and our brains. We forget, though, who gave us our health, our physical strength, our intelligence, and even the chance to live in this country of great opportunity. How arrogant to think we have succeeded all on our own, without the grace and blessings of God! (Fr. Luke A. Veronis)
“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). And from His fullness have we all received, grace upon grace (Jn 1.16)… 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 (cf. Jn 17)—can itself be the vehicle for spiritual growth and salvation if rightly understood and overcome by the grace of God.” (Fr. Thomas Hopko)