Note ~ This passage originally was written as prose. It comes from Merton’s book Thoughts in Solitude. It’s a follow up to my reflection on June 2, 2022 on Gratefulness.

Today’s Life-Line is:

To be grateful
is to recognize the Love of God
in everything God has given us —
and God has given us everything.
Every breath we draw is a gift of God’s love,
every moment of existence is a grace,
for it brings with it immense graces from God.
Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted,
is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening
to new wonder and to praise
of the goodness of God.
For the grateful person knows
that God is good,
not by hearsay but by experience.
And that is what makes
all the difference.

~ Thomas Merton

♦ In a few instances, I have taken the liberty to type the passage using gender-free language for God as I suspect Merton would do today.

ARTWORK: Truly Grateful, Beverly McIver. Beverly McIver’s work can be found here.

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