When it’s Hard to Give Thanks

“Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?” // Luke 17 (from the Gospel for Thanksgiving Day)

I blinked groggily and reached for my phone to silence the alarm. As I rolled over I heard the familiar jangle of my rosary hitting the floor. I’d done it again, fallen asleep as I prayed my daily Rosary. Did I even make it to the second mystery? This was becoming a nightly routine. 

I had started a 54-Day Rosary Novena a few weeks earlier, but when the intention shifted from petition to thanksgiving I started to fall off—or rather, doze off. When I was praying for the thing I so desperately wanted, I was pious and attentive. But when day 28 rolled around and nothing “happened,” I had a hard time convincing myself to thank God for a miracle that had yet to be seen. 

Instead of sitting up and meditating on the mysteries, I laid down and was usually out by the end of the first decade. I tried to spin it, but the truth was that it was tough to give thanks when all I felt was disappointment. 

For most Americans, today as Thanksgiving Day is special. We celebrate all the good in our lives as we gather around crowded tables overflowing with food and gratitude. But when life isn’t so abundant, thanksgiving can be harder to muster. And sometimes, even when it is, we simply forget to thank God or fail to recognize His love behind our every blessing. 

So whether things are good or bad, bountiful or scarce, most of us are not great at giving thanks. After all, only one in ten lepers came back to thank Jesus even though they all got what they wanted. So if thanksgiving isn’t dependent upon our circumstances then we must develop a habit of thanksgiving and grow in the virtue of gratitude. 

Perhaps the grace I received during those first 27 days wasn’t the desired outcome of my prayers, but it was the chance to practice thanking God no matter how I felt or what I could see. So if, like me, your gratitude muscle could use a little strengthening, maybe a 54-Day Rosary Novena is a good place to start.