MAY 15 – Gratitude

The hyacinth

The hyacinth, the jonquil, thewhite asphodel, all these form one family; they belong to the lilies. At night and in the morning, they exude fine and strong odor. It has head and stem like justice.

Gratitude

We owe all our benefactors gratitude. This virtue consists in a ready attitude of mind to show pleasure and acknowledgment to those from whom we have received favor. We owe gratitude to God, to his most Holy Mother, to our parents, to our teachers and to all those who have favored us in the spiritual and material aspect.

Gratitude in Mary

On different occasions Mary gave thanks to God in our behalf and in a very special and effective way: in her purest affection toward God the redeemer, she saw in the incarnation the redeemed world; when she saw him born, and at the foot of the cross she saw the work of redemption fulfilled; and in her own name by her immaculate Concepcion and by her election as Mother of God. She was grateful to her parents, to her teachers and priests in the temple and to St. Joseph while she lived with him.

The flower to Mary

Are you aware of the benefits that you are continuously receiving from God? Do you know them? Do you reflect on them? He has created you, he has redeemed you, he offers you his love, his grace and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, he promises you the glory, he gives you life, breathing and movement and whatever good you have: what do you tell him for these favors? Do you praise him? Do you thank him and show yourself grateful? If you are ungrateful to God, the ungrateful deserves that the favors be withdrawn from him. See how this virtue of gratitude is in your soul, plant it, transplant it, water it, cultivate it and when you gather it present it to Mary saying to her:

Queen of heaven: Receive the flower that you ask from me. I promise, I oblige myself, I resolve to be grateful to God and to you; to God, because of the favors of creation, redemption, and vocation and the others which I receive every day; and to you for having deigned to take me as your son. Accept my intentions and grant that they be efficacious.
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