Prayer of Gratitude

“Thank you, Lord for the gift of life, (and for my mom’s openness to life at 40 years old after two hard miscarriages)…what an amazing thing to be alive and functioning in this world! Thank you for the incredible gift of my Catholic Faith: to be able to visit you and receive you in my heart frequently in the Eucharist, to have my sins forgiven by you in Confession, to be inspired by your Word in Sacred Scripture, and to have you as my faithful friend and constant traveling companion every day! Thank you for giving me your mom as my mom, so tender and so caring…she has been a huge gift for my priestly perseverance and fidelity. Thank you, Christ for the tremendous gift of my priesthood, “treasure in clay”…what an honor and dignity to be able to represent you for so many needy souls! Thank you for the gift of my mom and dad, my brothers, Tom and Jim and my sister, Deb…I learned so much from them about virtue and self giving, so many lessons of love! Thank you for my health, for allowing me to still play hockey, golf, basketball and go for long runs. I am grateful, Lord, so grateful for your love and kindness toward me, and I hope this prayer of gratitude inspires many others to thank you for their blessings as well.”