much thanks, julian

"giving thanks is also part of prayer.  thanksgiving is a true, inner awareness.  charged with the quality of reverence and loving awe, we turn ourselves with all our might toward the actions our good Lord guides us to, rejoicing and thanking him inwardly.  sometimes the soul is so filled with gratitude that it overflows and breaks into song:  'good Lord, thanks be to you!  blessed are you, O God, and blessed may you always be.'

and then sometimes when the heart is dry and feels nothing, or maybe is being tempted to give up, both reason and grace drive the soul to cry out to the Lord, imploring him, recalling his blessed passion and his great goodness.  and so the power of our Lord's word enters the soul and enlivens the heart.  by his grace, we begin to engage in true practices and pray a blessed prayer and rejoice in our Beloved.  this is the holiest prayer--the loving prayer of Thanksgiving--in his sight." --julian of norwich

aptly spoken from the 14th century and speaks to me very much here in the 21st.  may your heart rejoice where it is joyful and be enlivened where it is in need:  all in a spirit of gratitude.