DAILY MEDITATION: “I give you praise, Father”

Liturgical day: Tuesday of the First Week of Advent

Gospel text (Lk 10,21-24): At that very moment he rejoiced [in] the holy Spirit and said, “I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”

Turning to the disciples in private he said, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”

“I give you praise, Father”

Fr. Jean GOTTIGNY
(Bruxelles, Belgium)

Today, we are reading an excerpt of Chapter 10, of the Gospel after St. Luke. The Lord had sent seventy-two disciples to the towns He intended to visit. And they came back exultant. While listening to the accounts of their doings and exploits, “At that very moment he rejoiced [in] the Holy Spirit and said, ‘I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth’” (Lk 10, 21).

One of the aspects of humility is gratitude. The arrogant one feels he owes nothing to anybody. To feel grateful, we need first to discover our insignificance. “Thanks” is one of the first words we teach our children. “I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike” (Lk 10, 21).

Benedict XVI, when speaking of the attitude of adoration, he affirms, “that adoring God means recognizing his presence as Creator and Lord of the Universe. The hallmark of worship is, recognizing the greatness of God that arises from the depths of one's heart and marks one's whole being, (…) ensuring that God is the most important part of one's life with the realization that with God at the centre of our lives the purpose of their existence will become clear”.

A sensible soul feels the need to express its gratitude. It is the only way for us to reciprocate for the divine favors received. “What do you possess that you have not received?” (1Co 4, 7). We must certainly “give thanks to God the Father, through his Son, in the Holy Spirit, because in his great love for us He took pity on us, and when we were dead in our sins he brought us to life with Christ, so that in him we might be a new creation” (St. Leo the Great).

Source: evangeli.net