Holy habits, gratitude.
It is very easy to fall into the habit of being cross with the world. Of being cynical. Of not seeing what God puts in front of you each and every day.
The Christian practice of gratitude is something that has existed in our relationship with God right back to our earliest covenants.
Our offering of thanksgiving and praise has been at the heart of our relationship with God right the way back to Abraham and the earliest Israelites.
We still see it today in our liturgy – our Eucharist always starts with a greeting ‘the Lord be with you’ and with a declaration of praise and thanks:
‘Let us give thanks to the Lord’.
The Priest continues,
‘It is right to give thanks and praise always and everywhere’.
This is not something that is reserved to the altar – it is something that we all do ‘always and everywhere’.
Or rather – should do. It’s one of the easiest things to forget however and very quickly we fall into the trap of the world around us by being cynical and closed to the gifts of God.
To start practicing gratitude is to be open to those gifts and opportunities in front of you. To be able to discern those gifts enables you to make best use of them.
Start your day by crossing yourself and saying the Our Father, then thank God for the gift of another day here on earth, another day to share His love in the world, another day to care for those in need, another day to love your friends and family.
Thank you God for our family at St. Anselm, the friendships, the support and the love.
Fr. Matthew
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Our Lent Course – Holy Habits – continues on Thursday (7th). This week you’ll be hearing about the Holy Habit of Daily Prayer & Scripture from Fr. Sam. You can take part in person on Thursday mornings after mass or online on Thursday evenings at 7:30pm. More details on the website – www.stanselm.co.uk/lent
Lent is a very good time to make your first confession. If you’ve not come to confession before, or if you’re worried about how it works please speak to Fr. Matthew.
Please note there are several changes to the office and mass times this week to reflect the start of the Easter holidays.
We are very short of tinned meat, soup & tinned vegetables for the foodbank and I’d really appreciate any donations you can bring this Sunday.
It’s Palm Sunday next week, the start of Holy Week and our journey towards Easter Sunday. Please make an extra effort to be in church and receive your palm cross.