I Appeal to You
... through Bertha Dudde  - 13.12.1950 

5019   Gratitude ....

Your love for Me also results in your gratitude for everything I give to you, even if you don’t put your feelings of gratitude into words it nevertheless is in your heart, into which I can look at any time. The mouth often voices what the heart is not aware of, and such words mean nothing to Me. But the heart can feel without expressing itself with words, and I only take such feeling into account. A person’s heart, having received kindness, will also respond with love and be thankful to the giver. But to accept a gift without gratitude betrays innermost heartlessness, it betrays arrogance towards a fellow human being which makes him feel entitled to have received something. The same also applies to Me, so that the humble person always accepts My gifts of grace with a grateful heart, be they spiritual or earthly offerings I give to Him in My love. Humble childlike love is always evidence of gratitude .... Thus words are not necessary for Me, yet you should not fail to express your thankfulness towards your fellow human being so as not to hurt the giver and repay his love with unkindness. Although someone who only gives for the sake of gratitude certainly lacks the right love for his neighbour every well-intentioned gift should nevertheless be gratefully acknowledged so that the giver shall also learn to know the pleasure of giving, so that the giver’s love will be kindled by the pleasure of the recipient, for a warmly felt gratitude can inspire further giving, which will always be a blessing for the giver and the recipient. Gratitude is inseparable from love, because a grateful word without love cannot be called true gratitude. But the life, thoughts and actions of a loving person constitute never-ending gratefulness towards the One Who created him, for his will also belongs to Him, He owns the love of his heart which, bowed down in most profound humbleness, receives every gift from Him with emotion. This gratitude is pleasing to Me, since I also possess the love of My living creations which will then always receive beyond measure, so that they become blissfully happy ....

Amen