Three Reasons Why We Are Ungrateful

I heard mass last Sunday with my family.  We got in late but it did not matter at all since I was presented with a package of message from a young priest that gave us a well prepared homily.  He presented Three Reasons Why We Are Ungrateful.   I would like to share my reflections in here as i found it to be so true in our journey.

1.  Ordinariness

Each day can be treated only like it was yesterday.  An ordinary day that is.  You wake up yesterday, eat your food, bathe, change clothes, go to work, etc.  Nothing is new.  Just the ordinary day.  You come home, children come home too.  You eat together at dinner table while watch the television that is turned on to entertain the family.  And you go to sleep with your family.  Oops, you forgot to pray and thank God that you received your paycheck today, your children came home safe from school.  Or your husband or wife gave you such wonderful time at dinner and you breathed your life today.  But then you did not see the blessings and the silent and subtle outpouring during the day.  Just the ordinary day.

2.  Envy

Envy means a feeling of discontenment or resenful longing aroused by someone else's possessions, qualities or luck (google.com).  You want so much what others' have.  You resent and ask why they have it while you don't have such an opportunity.  The priests in that homily stated that "we sometimes spend sleepless nights thinking about the accomplishment and success of the other due to envy".  And yes... you forget how blessed you are with what you have and your accomplishments

3.  Self-Entitlement

Self-entitlement means that what you worked hard for through the years...your success and accomplishments are your own efforts and that you deserve where you are right now. Your went through life's difficulties trying to hurdle your student life without much financial support and became a working student. Yes your thoughts that your titles, accomplishments,wins, promotions, etc. were your own effort.  There was no sense of Someone helping you out get through them.  Or you might have asked God for help but since you were overwhelmed so you connect or attach success with your own hard work.  it is like an mentality that says, "I have the right...I deserve such privileges"...There was no God to thank for.  

Being contented is a gift.  A contented person is a grateful person.  A grateful person is humble enough to realize that everything that he has is given... They are gifts and gifts are meant to be given away and bless others and the world.  

Gratefulness is what we hold dear as a family.  As we gather in the morning when we wake up to pray and at night time before going to bed, we thank God for everything.  I feel that being grateful enlarges our person and will lead us to embracing humility.  Even and despite the struggle to be humble, it is comforting to know that I as a person is aware that I feel at times encroached by my own ego and selfish desires and motives.  Yet, I thank God even more for the grace to see this shortcoming so that I could do something about them.  

The last time that I gave a talk I shared how grateful and blessed I am and my family through the years.  So blessed that I could never resist giving in all sorts.  

May God's Name be Praised...Amen