This article appeared in the August 2009 issue of Catholic Family News.
The Preeminence of the Prayer of Thanksgiving
by Bishop Ottokar Prohaszka
A great deal of prayer is instinctive and primarily proceeds from self-love. This type of prayer is a supernatural act, but it is "natural" as well, since it is promoted by self-interest. We must not judge harshly, nor in any way disparage the value of the prayer of petition. Man does well when, conscious of his own weakness and dependence, he turns to God and begs for grace and help. Faith even requires him to do this, for Christ said, "Without Me you can do nothing," and although God gives continually, He desires us to ask Him to do so.
It is this reiterated request which prepares the way for grace. The perils of life are a fresh stimulus to prayer, for our path skirts the abysses of hell, and death lies in wait for us. "Lord, save us, we perish", cried the Apostles, before they said, "Lord, teach us to pray." Danger put the words into their mouths, and then prayer became possible. The same thing applies to us, when we are roused by the consciousness of our spiritual need and misery; it is only those who live heedlessly, like animals, who are incapable of prayer.
There are other types of prayer, however, which are not prompted by interest or the hope of future benefits, but by love - love for God and for souls, wedded love, paternal love, and the love of friendship. We see instances of this type of prayer in Samuel's cry to God, in the intercession of apostles for souls, and in that of mothers for their children.
We know that these prayers are actuated by love, but we also know that they are petitions, with an end in view. The pleader is oblivious of himself, but not of those whose salvation he has at heart. He says, as it were, "My God, I will sacrifice my soul for their sake; only redeem them, have mercy upon them. I love them, and because of this I am willing to suffer for them." This method of prayer is both lofty and sanctifying, but it too is a petition which seeks a response.
There is, however, a form of prayer which does not aim at attaining any specific result, in which we merely make acknowledgement, and our heart, fragrant with the perfume of utter selflessness, pours itself forth in love and gratitude. True love expresses itself in the prayer of thanksgiving.
Gratitude does nothing but love God because of the greatness of His bounty, and proclaim His goodness unceasingly. God is good, infinitely good; He has overwhelmed us with His bounty, and has warmed the earth at the fire of His love, which He desires that we should feel. He wants us to realize that everything good comes from Him - life, strength, awakening, the
profound life within us, and the great and beautiful world without, which is intended to give our soul color and tone and beauty, to form and enrich and uplift it.
All this comes from God, our loving Creator. And He does so much for us! He watches over us. works for us, helps us. gives us life. He crowns His mercies to us by the sweet gift of gratitude. Deo gratias! He wishes to make us happy by giving us eternal life, and by leading us to Himself, where all our struggles are hushed, and our desires appeased, because in Him we shall find everything, and then our only sensation will be one of eternal gratitude. The prayer of thanksgiving is the worship of the elect, the prayer of the blessed. It will be a foretaste of Heaven to us here below, if we are able to thank God for all His infinite goodness with all our heart and soul. Thanks be to Thee, dear Lord!
Taken from Meditations on the Gospel (out-of-print)
