Preview: Father Faber on the Holy Gratitude of the Saints

On Monday, November 18, we'll continue our Son Rise Morning show series on Father Frederick Faber's Little Book of Gratitude, drawn from the seventh chapter of All For Jesus, with a focus on how the canonized saints "Ever Gave Thanks to God". I'll be on the air at my usual time! about 7:50 a.m. Eastern Time/6:50 a.m. Central Time. Please listen live here or listen to the podcast later.

As Faber begins the chapter: "Thanksgiving has been in all ages the characteristic of the saints. Thanksgiving has been their favorite prayer . . . ." and then he offers several examples of saints, familiar and unfamiliar to readers in our time, at least, starting with Saint Laurence Justinian, the first Patriarch of Venice, whose feast is no longer celebrated on the universal Roman Calendar:

Bishop and first Patriarch of Venice, b. in 1381, and d. 8 January, 1456. He was a descendant of the Giustiniani, a Venetian patrician family which numbered several saints among its members. Lawrence's pious mother sowed the seeds of a devout religious life in the boy's youth. In 1400 when he was about nineteen years old, he entered the monastery of the Canons Regular of St. Augustine on the Island of Alga near Venice. In spite of his youth he excited admiration by his poverty, mortifications, and fervour in prayer. At that time the convent was changed into a congregation of secular canons living in community. After his ordination in 1406 Lawrence was chosen prior of the community, and shortly after that general of the congregation. He gave them their constitution, and was so zealous in spreading the same that he was looked upon as the founder. His reputation for saintliness as well as his zeal for souls attracted the notice of Eugene IV and on 12 May, 1433, he was raised to the Bishopric of Castello. The new prelate restored churches, established new parishes in Venice, aided the foundation of convents, and reformed the life of the canons. But above all he was noted for his Christian charity and his unbounded liberality. All the money he could raise he bestowed upon the poor, while he himself led a life of simplicity and poverty. He was greatly respected both in Italy and elsewhere by the dignitaries of both Church and State. He tried to foster the religious life by his sermons as well as by his writings. . . . Lawrence was named the first Patriarch of Venice, and exercised his office till his death somewhat more than four years later. His beatification was ratified by Clement VII in 1524, and he was canonized in 1690 by Alexander VIII. Innocent XII appointed 5 September for the celebration of his feast. The saint's ascetical writings have often been published, first in Brescia in 1506, later in Paris in 1524, and in Basle in 1560, etc. We are indebted to his nephew, Bernardo Giustiniani, for his biography.

Faber cites his Treatise on Obedience:

Whosoever should try to lay open all God's blessings to the full would be like a man trying to confine in a little vase the mighty currents of the wide ocean; for that would be an easier work than to publish with human eloquence the innumerable gifts of God. . . . They are to be confessed with the month, revered in the heart, and religiously worshipped, as far as the littleness of man can do. . . .

Only let God see you are thankful for what He has given you, and He will bestow more gifts upon you, and better gifts.

Among more familiar saints, perhaps, Faber mentions Saint Catherine of Siena, Saint Bridget of Sweden, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Saint Mary Magdalene of Pazzi, Saint Bonaventure, and Saint Gregory of Nyssa.

Citing a revelation to Saint Bridget, Faber again emphasizes the connection between thanksgiving and Holy Communion:

Our Lord gives the increase of thanksgiving as a reason to St. Bridget for the sacrifice of the Mass. "My body," says He, "is daily immolated on the altar, that men my love me so much the more, and more frequently call to mind my blessings."

In his own words, Faber urges his readers to "meditate for a few minutes on the Eternal Word", the "Second Person, the eternally begotten Word of the Father, the splendor of His Majesty, uncreated Wisdom, the same Person who was incarnate and crucified for us, the same who sent us the Holy Spirit, who gave us Mary, who gives us Himself in the Blessed Sacrament . . . then think what His liberalities must be--no bound or measure to them. We cannot count their number, nor exhaust their fullness, nor understand their excellence . . ."

Through this kind of meditation, Faber says, we will "increase our devotion to His most dear humanity, and to learn how to watch at His Crib, to weep over His Cross, to worship at His tabernacle, and to nestle in His Sacred Heart."

The last saint Father Faber quotes is Saint Gregory of Nyssa, who urges us to be grateful for our past, our present, and our future because the blessings we've received and will receive are all from God:

That you were born was His blessing; and after you were born, your life and your death were, as the apostle Paul says, [in Romans 14:8, "If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord."] equally His blessing. Whatever your future hopes may be, they hang also upon His blessing.

Finally, Faber promises to help his readers to understand the "principal blessings for which we are bound continually to thank God" in the next chapter, "What We Should Give Thanks For."

Image Source (Public Domain): Portrait of Saint Lawrence Justinian by Gentile Bellini.