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<\/a><\/p>\nAs I ate, I observed three men, sitting at the table beside me.\u00a0 When they finished eating, they cupped the palms of their hands and placed them in front of their faces.\u00a0 In unison, they made an outward circular motion with their hands as if washing their faces.\u00a0 Once their hands went down, they stood and walked away.\u00a0 I had never seen this particular gesture before, but it was clearly a gesture of gratitude.\u00a0 I asked our guide later that day, and he confirmed my suspicion, it was an action to express thanks to God.\u00a0 As a Catholic, this reminded me of the prayers offered at meal times, in particular the one after meals which is less common than the one before meals: \u201cWe give you thanks, O Lord, for these and all your benefits, who lives and reigns for ever and ever, amen.\u00a0 May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace, amen.\u201d<\/p>\n
A few days later while visiting the city of Khiva, an imam chanted from the Koran while we visited the tomb of the thirteenth-century Sufi saint Pahlavan Mahmud.\u00a0 When the chanting concluded, I saw the imam perform the same gesture of gratitude.\u00a0 As a Catholic, it reminded me of the response from the faithful at liturgy after the reading of Scripture, \u201cthanks be to God.\u201d<\/p>\n
This experience pointed to the universal need imprinted in every heart to give thanks to God.\u00a0 Every human person recognizes that he or she has received unmerited goodness, starting with life itself.\u00a0 We recognize that all things are a gift from above.<\/p>\n
Saint James writes in Scripture, \u201call good giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change.\u201d\u00a0 Every day, every moment, is a moment to express gratitude.<\/p>\n
Every time the Eucharist is celebrated, the priest and the faithful have an exchange of words during the preface.\u00a0 \u201cThe Lord be with you\u2026 life up your hearts\u2026 let us give thanks to the Lord our God.\u201d\u00a0 The response to the final words from the priest is, \u201cit is right and just.\u201d<\/p>\n
We give thanks to God always because it is the right thing to do.\u00a0 It is not the nice or polite thing to do, but we do it out of an awareness that we are unable to repay him.\u00a0 We owe him gratitude out of justice, in return for what He has given to us.<\/p>\n
Gratitude expands our ability to love because it allows us to recognize the goodness we have received undeservedly.<\/p>\n
Observing these gestures of gratitude in a country that is predominantly Muslim (estimates are between 93% and 97% of the population), was a remarkable reminder of the shared religious sense and need to give thanks that binds all of humanity together.\u00a0 We all bear the fingerprints of the one God who has created us who never tires of calling us to Himself.<\/p>\n
Picture is mine, all rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
During my first full day in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, we visited the city market.\u00a0 After being duly impressed by the diversity of products, stunning tomatoes, and the ovens where bread was baked both sideways and upside-down, it was time for lunch.\u00a0 Though the food hall was large, it appeared as if every stall sold the same […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2533,"featured_media":8102,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1002],"tags":[2483,1427,2480],"class_list":["post-8099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reflection","tag-gratitude","tag-islam","tag-thanksgiving"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a><\/p>\n