The Life of Thanksgiving
By
His Holiness Pope Shenouda

     In these days, it has become rare to find a thankful person. A thankful person is a joyful, caring and comforting person. Even though we are surrounded by so many fancy/luxurious stuff. In fact, these things don't keep us content; on the contrary they distract us and make us ask for more, and gradually we lose the virtue of being thankful.

     Pope Shenouda describes the life of thanksgiving in a very simple way in this book. He explains why should we be thankful for all things, good and bad times, because we have to be sure that God continually makes good to us even when we think it is bad, "All things work together for good to those who love God" Rom 8:28. The book gives examples for things to be thankful for in any situation. For examples, we should be thankful for our existence, for the nature, for the talents He has given us, for our Christian faith, for our church and the spiritual friends, for His mercy and care, for our health condition (whether healthy or sick), for keeping us alive to this hour, for the good things that we see and those good things that we cannot see, for saving us on the cross, for calling us his children.

     Thanksgiving means our confidence and belief by faith that everything God allows to happen to us is good for which we give thanks to God.  Being thankful is related to our faith (not sight), patience, humility, and focusing on God. The belief in the wisdom of God leads us to the life of submission, which is in concert with the life of thanksgiving. 

SG