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Gratitudeby Fr Deacon John-Mark Titterington* Nowadays, when a Lancashire man says "Ta~ much!" he is often thought to be going over the top in gratitude. One of the many casualties of our modern "free" society is that any expression of thanks is considered to be an act of subservience and, therefore, not "politically correct." This raises problems for Christians, the context of whose worship is simply "thanksgiving" or "Eucharist" in Greek. But how thankful can we be in our worship if we neglect the discipline in our daily life? Recently, I came across some words of St. Mark the Hermit, who was a disciple of St. John Chrysostom. He said:- "Here, my son, is the way to gain merit and make progress in the sight of God. You must make a list in your memory and in your meditation of all the providential benefits which have been allotted to you by God, the lover of men, for the salvation of your soul. You must never forget them. Do not permit negligence and wickedness to cover these memories with the veil of forgetfulness so that you lose all remembrance of the great and numerous graces you have received. If that were to happen you would spend the rest of your life in ingratitude, without any merit at all." This, as we know is clean contrary to the accepted canons of life in the 1990's, but for Christians, it is vital. How can we carry out what St. Mark the Hermit suggests? Obviously, there are many ways of approaching this, but I will outline my own which is essentially simple. Saint Mark says:- "make a list," so on the left hand side of a blank sheet of paper, write down underneath each other, the numbers 1 through to 31. Then, starting with number 1, put down the names or initials of the people who have helped you in your life. You will probably start with fond parents; some teachers; a priest maybe, and go on to the present time using one number for each person, or maybe, each group of people; eg. teachers. Go on down the list and put down, not all the people you have known, met, loved, not the ones you may have helped; but stick to the ones who have helped you in any sort of way ... materially, spiritually or mentally. If you get to 31 and are still not finished, start another list at number 1 because, once complete, the numbers can refer to the days of a (any) month and by using this list in your daily prayers you can then say "thank you" in an ordered and meaningful way to God for all those who have helped you on your earthly pilgrimage. "Count your many blessings" the old mission hymn used to say. "You must never forget them," St. Mark the Hermit says, or "you will spend the rest of your life in ingratitude, without any merit at all." God forbid; Lord have mercy, Amen Ta~: Lancashire dialect for "thank you" |
