“Gratefulness, the Heart of Prayer”
by Brother David Steindl-Rast
Gratefulness is simply one way of
experiencing the life of the Triune God within us.
This life springs forth from the Father,
the fountain and wellspring of divinity, the Ultimate Giver.
The total self-gift of the Father is the Son.
The Son receives everything from the Father
and becomes the turning point in this divine tide of giving.
For in the Holy Spirit, the Son returns
the Father’s ultimate giving as ultimate thanksgiving.
The Triune God is Giver, Gift, and Thanksgiving.
This movement from the Father
through the Son in the Spirit back to its Source
is what St. Gregory of Nyssa called
“the Round Dance of the Blessed Trinity.”
We can begin to join that dance in our heart
right now through gratefulness.
What else could be called life in fullness?
