Many good Catholics today are striving for an increase in purity by both prayer and mortification. This is extremely commendable. But did you know the virtue of purity is directly connected to supernatural hope? And the virtue of supernatural hope is directly connected to gratitude? I found this while studying Scripture:
Gratitude increases hope:
The hope of an ungrateful man will melt like wintry frost and flow away like waste water.—Wis 16:29.
… and hope increases purity:
And everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies Himself as He is pure.—1 John 3:3.
Therefore, real gratitude increases both supernatural hope and purity. Purity of heart is not only something in regards to the 6th and 9th commandment (although it is certainly those too) but also refers to seeking God-alone above all creatures and gifts. It’s amazing that thanking God for those creatures and gifts (if done the right way) detaches us from those very creatures as obstacles while ironically attaching us God alone. This leads to purity of heart and mind. And again, this is done by increasing gratitude.
Gratitude, hope and purity all make us love God above all things, and all creatures for His sake. Strangely, we love them more while detached.
We can’t automatically increase hope or purity. But we can automatically increase thanksgiving in our prayer by naming specific things. We should do this meditation on Thanksgiving Day. But we should also make this a daily exercise of thanking God for real things, especially His Son dying and rising on a cross for us. In such meditation (when we live real thanksgiving) we not only receive more blessings from God, but we see that gratitude is already a foretaste of heaven-on-earth. Why? Because heaven will be the saved eternally praising and thanking God.
At this same time last year on my Life Update pull-down section, I wrote about some of the specific things I am thankful for here.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.