Article June 26, 1954 Issue

GRATITUDE

MARION ALICE BOWERS

Gratitude is a lovely quality, allied with grace and graciousness. And those who habitually express it are always beloved. Christian Science deepens and enhances our understanding and appreciation of all that is good by showing God to be its source. It teaches us that gratitude is a healing quality, because it is an acknowledgment of good. And as we acknowledge good we become more aware of evil's unreality.

In the life of the most seemingly deprived there is always something for which to thank the heavenly Father. In Christian Science, however, one learns to be thankful for omnipresent good before it is manifested humanly. In the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mary Baker Eddy writes (p. 3): "Are we really grateful for the good already received? Then we shall avail ourselves of the blessings we have, and thus be fitted to receive more. Gratitude is much more than a verbal expression of thanks. Action expresses more gratitude than speech."

An apt illustration is that of a little girl unwrapping Christmas presents at a party of friends and relatives. As she opens each parcel she reads the card and dutifully and prettily thanks the donor. At last, however, she opens a parcel which contains the present she has most ardently desired. She is so happy that she runs away into a corner and proceeds to play with it. The donor of this gift has received the best thanks of all in the child's active and obvious enjoyment.

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AFFLUENCE OF GOOD
June 26, 1954
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