Gratitude For The Multitude

We give thanks to God always for all of you, remembering you in our prayers, unceasingly calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love and endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ. // 1 Thessalonians 1:2

If you’re like me, you have a prayer list of people you pray for on the regular. It’s typically a list of prayers people need answered: illnesses needing healing, anxieties facing family and friends, vocational trials and desires, and unanswered prayers.

But have you ever been caught up in pure delight and awe in thanks to God for all the people He has placed in your life and how active He is in their individual lives?

In May, I was taken aback in prayer, almost removed from the moment happening before me. We celebrated Confirmations at our parish, one that ministers to college students. As one young man received the Sacrament of Confirmation, I recalled the student who drove to Texas during the pandemic to meet him face-to-face and welcome him into our faith community. I remembered the classes he took, the retreats we shared together, the way he served our community, and the continual exploration of his faith. I saw all the “labor[s] of love and endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ” that poured into and out of this young man that led him to receive the Holy Spirit that day. In this moment I understood the depths of Saint Paul’s gratitude in the First Reading (see 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5, 8b-10).

I felt like I was a drone hovering over the congregation as I scanned the students and community in the pews, marveling at all God had done, will do, and is doing it their lives.

Sister, take time to re-read the First Reading, and really pause over the words and ask the Holy Spirit to inspire you. And next time you’re at church, look around in praise to God, knowing this is a small selection of the Church, and marvel “how you were chosen” alongside the “brothers and sisters loved by God” surrounding you (1 Thessalonians 1:4).