Gratitude is one of the most truthful ways of finding the presence of God in a person’s life.
In a study done by Samuels and Lester (1985) it was contended that in a small sample of Catholic nuns and priests, out of 50 emotions, love and gratitude were the most experienced emotion towards God. And in the Orthodox, Catholic and Anglican Churches, the most important rite is called the Eucharist. The name derives from the Greek word eucharistia for thanksgiving.
So what is true gratitude for me? Today, it is having found the presence of God in Mobile, Alabama; in people whose faces I saw for the first time, in old friends I reconnected with after many years, and in the kind reception of new friends.
I returned from Mobile yesterday afternoon filled with gratitude.
To Deborah, and The Daughters of Mary at St. Ignatius Catholic Church, where I gave a presentation of ‘some’ of the sinners and saints in my novel, “A Hunger in the Heart.” I say, thank you.
To the Jesuits and faculty members at Spring Hill College, where I served on a panel discussion about the Catholic Imagination and Fiction, I say, thank you.
To Ron and to Susie, who hosted a beautiful dinner for us, I say, thank you.
To Peter, my publisher, and Joseph, my editor at Tuscany Press, I say, thank you.
And since I heard a little affectionate teasing about my Dothan accent, I’ll say again to everyone I met. From the depths of my heart, “I wanna thank ya’ll.”
Translating a World on the Edge 