Think of a day you would never want to repeat. Who called to see how you were doing? Who sat with you when there was little to say? What helped you take the next step? You can still wish that day had gone differently and thank God for the person who helped you through it. That is one way to begin living what Paul asks of us.
Paul places thanksgiving alongside two other invitations in our reflection verse today. Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in all circumstances.
Earlier in the letter, Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy show what this looks like. They thank God for the Thessalonians’ faith, love, and endurance, and recall how the community received the Gospel amid great affliction, with joy from the Holy Spirit. Paul has already seen hardship and joy coexist in the people he is addressing.
“In all circumstances” tells us where we can give thanks. In grief, we can thank God for the person we loved. In the face of injustice, we can thank God for those who stand with us as we seek what is right. “The will of God for you” points to how God invites us to live amid what happens. “In Christ Jesus” tells us where that trust comes from. The risen Christ gives us reason to hope even when we can see very little to be grateful for. On some days, the whole prayer may be as simple as, Jesus, thank you for staying with me.
I recall a story from Fr. Ron Rolheiser about a patient in a hospital who was a veteran and in severe pain. He thanked his nurse each time she came in to care for him. She told him that was her job, but he truly wanted her to know that what she was doing for him and others really mattered. In this way, his simple remembrance of her service demonstrated gratitude in a concrete way.
At Mass, we can bring the whole week we have lived to the altar in prayer. We can bring the good news we have been eager to share and the burden we have barely found words for. In both, we join Christ in turning toward the Father in thankfulness.
