I hope that we realize how blessed we are and learn to express our gratitude to God each day. Unfortunately, some of us tend to take our blessings for granted. How often in the Old Testament did God remind the Chosen People of the need to be grateful. They were to express their gratitude visibly and publicly by bringing their offerings to the Lord. We, the people of the New Covenant, have the perfect gift to express our gratitude. It is the Eucharist. The word itself means "thanksgiving". What greater gift can we give to the Father than the gift of his Son's sacrifice on the cross for our salvation! Do we approach the Eucharist each Sunday with this awareness or do we approach it as an obligation? Each day we receive many blessings from God. Hopefully, we express our gratitude in prayer. But each Sunday we have the opportunity to express our gratitude individually and as a faith community in the celebration of the Eucharist. God, in turn, receives our gift of thanksgiving and gives us the gift of his Body and Blood in love, renewing the gift of his divine life in us. How great is our God! How grateful should we be in response! A grateful heart opens itself to further blessings from God.