This week's Thanksgiving holiday reminds us of the importance of gratitude. We have so many things for which to be thankful, not only this week, but every day of the year - God has given us our families, our friends, our homes, our daily needs, life, and the hope of eternal life with Him through Christ. God is so generous with us! How could we not be thankful?

St. Ignatius Loyola - founder of the Society of Jesus and the Patron Saint of Maryland - argued that ingratitude hurts the Lord more than other sins. He wrote:

It seems to me, in the light of the divine Goodness, though others may think differently, that ingratitude is one of the things most worthy of detestation before our Creator and Lord, and before all creature capable of his divine and everlasting glory, out of all the evils and sins which can be imagined. For it is a failure to recognize the good things, the graces, and the gifts received. As such, it is the cause, beginning, and origin of all evils and sins. On the contrary, recognition and gratitude for the good things and gifts received is greatly loved and esteemed both in heaven and on earth.

These are strong words from a great saint!

It may seem an overstatement to say that ingratitude is "the cause, beginning, and origin of all evils and sins," but I think St. Ignatius is onto something. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that all sin is "disobedience toward God and lack of trust in his goodness" (CCC 397). When we fail to recognize the goodness of God, we reject his will in favor of our own. We seek satisfaction in the things of this world rather than in communion with God himself. We fail to see the things that we have as gifts, and thus ignore or even reject the gift-giver.

Imagine, for a moment, that someone love you intensely and sends lavish gifts day after day to show their love for you. Roses, presents, and grand gestures of affection show up day after day as this person tries to win your affection. Imagine, now, that you completely barely acknowledge the existence of this other person. You occasionally enjoy the gifts, but have no interest in the gift-giver. Isn't this what we do whenever we are ungrateful to God, who gives us the entire universe every single day as a sign of his love for us?

Christian gratitude, on the other hand, acknowledges that all of the good things in the world around us are given to us by God and are signs of the infinite goodness of God and of his love for us. Gratitude allows our gaze to pass beyond the passing things of creation toward the Creator himself. Through Jesus Christ, especially in the Eucharist (which mean "Thanksgiving"), we are able to enter into communion with God day after day and are given the extraordinary hope of spending an eternity with him.

This Thanksgiving Day - and every other day - take some time to thank God for his many gifts - especially for the gift of himself. See every gift of creation as a sign of God's love for you and sincerely try to love him in return.