SSPX Bulletin, July 2010 AD.

TO THANK OR NOT TO THANK?

  That is not the question, a Christian should ask.

  Gratitude, apart from being  a beautiful Christian virtue, a fine flower of charity, is a natural virtue belonging to all human beings. Someone lately, told me that saying ‘thank you’ had pagan roots. Whether the roots of the word in English come from some age when Christianity had not yet converted England is of little importance, the virtue behind saying thank you, is gratitude, and for Christian or pagan it is an important part of our life with other human beings and with God.

  The words, thank you, of course, are not as important as the thought behind it. You could say them in another language, but of course the person to whom you are speaking might not understand, so it would be useless. In fact, all languages pagan and Christian (and most languages have pagan roots) have an expression of gratitude because it is so universal.

  But what is the thought behind the words "thank you". Perhaps some of us have never thought about that. Does thank you mean: Deo gratias, thanks be to God? Or does thank you express thanks to a human being? And then again, to whom does it express thanks? To someone who gives us a free gift or simply to any one who does anything for us.

  There is no doubt we ought to thank God for everything and be constantly saying to Him, Deo Gratias, for all that He gives us in nature, the supernatural and through other people. But St.Thomas Aquinas says that we should also thank other people, and not only those who give us unexpected gifts but even those who render us a paid service. There is a fundamental human and Christian
Truth behind this: Every time we receive something from a human being, there is a free act of human will behind it. That person has made a free choice to do something for us, that might have not been done.

  Let me give some examples.
  Sometimes people thank me for being a priest. At first, this might sound strange, because I am a priest, and I received my priesthood from God through the Church. But on the other hand, I chose to accept my vocation and I must do so every day in this world which is not particularly priest friendly.

  Catholics usually always thank priests at the end of Confession. Again one might say the priest is simply doing his duty, but then again were he to leave the priesthood by a free act of his will, he would not be there for confessions. Even though it is his duty, he willfully chooses to sit in the confessional and hear confessions.

  Perhaps, some more examples are pertinent, since it is not only to priests we should all say thank you. Say a waitress brings you your meal in a restaurant. She brings what you paid for relatively on time. Do you say thank you? Some would say: "Of course not its my meal, I paid for this". Well what if that day, that poor waitress was so fed up with the ingratitude she meets with in her job and with other problems in her life that she had decided to take out a revolver and shoot the next client she saw! And it was you! You should be happy then, to get a waitress that doesn't shoot you. Smile and say “Thank you”. That waitress, often has to serve with a smile, a lot of ugly characters and frowning faces. She wills to do it. That deserves a word of thanks. It is true, that you are not likely to get a bullet in the head for not doing it, but maybe someday perhaps a pie in your face.      

  What about the mechanic who fixes your car? Even if you pay him, he deserves a word of thanks. He could sabotage your motor, but he wills to fix it. What about your doctor, dentist, lawyer, accountant, or your employer, employees and most of all, your wife or husband and your children? Aren't these all so often there for you? When did you thank them last?

  Few husbands or wives think of thanking their spouse every day for being faithful to them and showing their thanks by acts of love. Little acts like this do a great deal to promote happy marriages. Of course, spouses make their vows on the day of their wedding, but these vows must be constantly renewed in the will by free choice. Such a renewal is worth recognition and thanks. Spouses can also thank each other for many other things. When one thinks about it, they should almost always be thanking each other!

  As we grow in holiness, we will also learn to thank others for the sufferings that they cause us. Some, the greatest martyrs, thanked even their persecutors who were bringing them to heaven the quick way.

  So let us go through this summer with a spirit of gratitude to God and to our neighbour. The best way in English to be understood is to say thank you. That is what we have been taught since we received our mother's milk, and what comes most naturally to us. In this way, we will spread the good odour of Christ around us and attract more bees by our honey than we might repel by our vinegar. 

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