It means living in Thanksgiving: if God is the only One, everything we are and have comes from him: "What have you that you did not receive?" 48 "What shall I render to the LORD for all his bounty to me?" 49

The sacrament of Penance can also take place in the framework of a communal celebration in which we prepare ourselves together for confession and give thanks together for the forgiveness received. Here, the personal confession of sins and individual absolution are inserted into a liturgy of the word of God with readings and a homily, an examination of conscience conducted in common, a communal request for forgiveness, the Our Father and a Thanksgiving in common. This communal celebration expresses more clearly the ecclesial character of penance. However, regardless of its manner of celebration the sacrament of Penance is always, by its very nature, a liturgical action, and therefore an ecclesial and public action. 90

It is here that the Father of the family, the mother, children, and all members of the family exercise the priesthood of the baptized in a privileged way "by the reception of the sacraments, Prayer and Thanksgiving, the witness of a holy life, and self-denial and active charity." 168 Thus the home is the first school of Christian life and "a school for human enrichment." 169 Here one learns endurance and the joy of work, fraternal love, generous - even repeated - forgiveness, and above all divine worship in prayer and the offering of one's life.

The acts of faith, hope, and charity enjoined by the first commandment are accomplished in Prayer. Lifting up the mind toward God is an expression of our adoration of God: prayer of Praise and Thanksgiving, intercession and petition. Prayer is an indispensable condition for being able to obey God's commandments. " (We) ought always to pray and not lose heart." 15

Becoming a disciple of Jesus means accepting the invitation to belong to God's family, to live in conformity with His way of life: "For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother." 40 Parents should welcome and respect with joy and Thanksgiving the Lord's call to one of their children to follow him in virginity for the sake of the Kingdom in the consecrated life or in priestly ministry.

The Psalter's many forms of Prayer take shape both in the liturgy of the Temple and in the human heart. Whether hymns or prayers of lamentation or Thanksgiving, whether individual or communal, whether royal chants, songs of pilgrimage or wisdom meditations, the Psalms are a mirror of God's marvelous deeds in the history of his people, as well as reflections of the human experiences of the Psalmist. Though a given psalm may reflect an event of the past, it still possesses such direct simplicity that it can be prayed in truth by men of all times and conditions.

The evangelists have preserved two more explicit Prayers offered by Christ during his public ministry. Each begins with Thanksgiving. In the first, Jesus confesses the Father, acknowledges, and blesses him because he has hidden the mysteries of the Kingdom from those who think themselves learned and has revealed them to infants, the poor of the Beatitudes. 48 His exclamation, "Yes, Father!" expresses the depth of his heart, his adherence to the Father's "good pleasure," echoing his mother's Fiat at the time of his conception and prefiguring what he will say to the Father in his agony. the whole prayer of Jesus is contained in this loving adherence of his human heart to the mystery of the will of the Father. 49

The second Prayer, before the raising of Lazarus, is recorded by St. John. 50 Thanksgiving precedes the event: "Father, I thank you for having heard me," which implies that the Father always hears his petitions. Jesus immediately adds: "I know that you always hear me," which implies that Jesus, on his part, constantly made such petitions. Jesus' prayer, characterized by thanksgiving, reveals to us how to ask: before the Gift is given, Jesus commits himself to the One who in giving gives himself. the Giver is more precious than the gift; he is the "treasure"; in him abides his Son's heart; the gift is given "as well." 51

That is why the Canticle of Mary, 91 The Magnificat (Latin) or Megalynei (byzantine) is the song both of the Mother of God and of the Church; the song of the Daughter of Zion and of the new People of God; the song of Thanksgiving for the fullness of graces poured out in the economy of Salvation and the song of the "poor" whose hope is met by the fulfillment of the promises made to our ancestors, "to Abraham and to his posterity for ever."

Thanksgiving characterizes the Prayer of the Church which, in celebrating the Eucharist, reveals and becomes more fully what she is. Indeed, in the work of Salvation, Christ sets Creation free from sin and death to consecrate it anew and make it return to the Father, for his glory. the thanksgiving of the members of the Body participates in that of their Head.

As in the Prayer of petition, every event and need can become an offering of Thanksgiving. the letters of St. Paul often begin and end with thanksgiving, and the Lord Jesus is always present in it: "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you"; "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving." 120

The term "to hallow" is to be understood here not primarily in its causative sense (only God hallows, makes holy), but above all in an evaluative sense: to recognize as holy, to treat in a holy way. and so, in adoration, this invocation is sometimes understood as Praise and Thanksgiving. 66 But this petition is here taught to us by Jesus as an optative: a petition, a desire, and an expectation in which God and man are involved. Beginning with this first petition to our Father, we are immersed in the innermost mystery of his Godhead and the drama of the Salvation of our humanity. Asking the Father that his name be made holy draws us into his plan of loving kindness for the fullness of time, "according to his purpose which he set forth in Christ," that we might "be holy and blameless before him in love." 67

"Pray and work." 121 "Pray as if everything depended on God and work as if everything depended on you." 122 Even when we have done our work, the food we receive is still a Gift from our Father; it is good to ask him for it with Thanksgiving, as Christian families do when saying grace at meals.

Like all the sacraments, Penance is a liturgical action. the elements of the celebration are ordinarily these: a greeting and blessing from the priest, reading the word of God to illuminate the conscience and elicit contrition, and an exhortation to repentance; the confession, which acknowledges sins and makes them known to the priest; the imposition and acceptance of a penance; the priest's absolution; a Prayer of Thanksgiving and Praise and dismissal with the blessing of the priest.

The Holy Spirit prepared Mary by his grace. It was fitting that the mother of him in whom "the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily" 102 should herself be "full of grace." She was, by sheer grace, conceived without sin as the most humble of creatures, the most capable of welcoming the inexpressible Gift of the Almighty. It was quite correct for the angel Gabriel to greet her as the "Daughter of Zion": "Rejoice." 103 It is the Thanksgiving of the whole People of God, and thus of the Church, which Mary in her canticle 104 lifts up to the Father in the Holy Spirit while carrying within her the eternal Son.

Blessing is a divine and life-giving action, the source of which is the Father; his blessing is both word and Gift. 4 When applied to man, the word "blessing" means adoration and surrender to his Creator in Thanksgiving.

The divine blessings were made manifest in astonishing and saving events: the birth of Isaac, the escape from Egypt (Passover and Exodus), the Gift of the promised land, the election of David, the presence of God in the Temple, the purifying exile, and return of a "small remnant." the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms, interwoven in the liturgy of the Chosen People, recall these divine blessings and at the same time respond to them with blessings of Praise and Thanksgiving.

The dual dimension of the Christian liturgy as a response of faith and love to the spiritual blessings the Father bestows on us is thus evident. On the one hand, the Church, united with her Lord and "in the Holy Spirit," 5 blesses the Father "for his inexpressible Gift 6 in her adoration, Praise, and Thanksgiving. On the other hand, until the consummation of God's plan, the Church never ceases to present to the Father the offering of his own gifts and to beg him to send the Holy Spirit upon that offering, upon herself, upon the faithful, and upon the whole world, so that through communion in the death and resurrection of Christ the Priest, and by the power of the Spirit, these divine blessings will bring forth the fruits of life "to the praise of his glorious grace." 7

Anamnesis. the liturgical celebration always refers to God's saving interventions in history. "The economy of Revelation is realized by deeds and words which are intrinsically bound up with each other.... (The) words for their part proclaim the works and bring to light the mystery they contain." 22 In the Liturgy of the Word the Holy Spirit "recalls" to the assembly all that Christ has done for us. In keeping with the nature of liturgical actions and the ritual traditions of the Churches, the celebration "makes a remembrance" of the marvelous works of God in an anamnesis which may be more or less developed. the Holy Spirit who thus awakens the memory of the Church then inspires Thanksgiving and Praise (doxology).

The inexhaustible richness of this sacrament is expressed in the different names we give it. Each name evokes certain aspects of it. It is called: Eucharist, because it is an action of Thanksgiving to God. the Greek words eucharistein 139 and eulogein 140 recall the Jewish blessings that proclaim - especially during a meal - God's works: Creation, redemption, and sanctification.

The liturgy of the Eucharist unfolds according to a fundamental structure which has been preserved throughout the centuries down to our own day. It displays two great parts that form a fundamental unity: - the gathering, the liturgy of the Word, with readings, homily and general intercessions; - the liturgy of the Eucharist, with the presentation of the bread and wine, the consecratory Thanksgiving, and communion. The liturgy of the Word and liturgy of the Eucharist together form "one single act of worship"; 170 The Eucharistic table set for us is the table both of the Word of God and of the Body of the Lord. 171

The Liturgy of the Word includes "the writings of the prophets," that is, the Old Testament, and "the memoirs of the apostles" (their letters and the Gospels). After the homily, which is an exhortation to accept this Word as what it truly is, the Word of God, 173 and to put it into practice, come the intercessions for all men, according to the Apostle's words: "I urge that supplications, Prayers, intercessions, and Thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings, and all who are in high positions." 174

The presentation of the offerings (the Offertory). Then, sometimes in procession, the bread and wine are brought to the altar; they will be offered by the priest in the name of Christ in the Eucharistic Sacrifice in which they will become his body and blood. It is the very action of Christ at the Last Supper - "taking the bread and a cup." "The Church alone offers this pure oblation to the Creator, when she offers what comes forth from his Creation with Thanksgiving." 175 The presentation of the offerings at the altar takes up the gesture of Melchizedek and commits the Creator's Gifts into the hands of Christ who, in his sacrifice, brings to perfection all human attempts to offer sacrifices.

The anaphora: with the Eucharistic Prayer - the prayer of Thanksgiving and consecration - we come to the heart and summit of the celebration:

We must therefore consider the Eucharist as: - Thanksgiving and Praise to the Father; - the sacrificial memorial of Christ and his Body; - the presence of Christ by the power of his word and of his Spirit.

The Eucharist, the sacrament of our Salvation accomplished by Christ on the cross, is also a Sacrifice of Praise in Thanksgiving for the work of Creation. In the Eucharistic sacrifice the whole of creation loved by God is presented to the Father through the death and the Resurrection of Christ. Through Christ the Church can offer the sacrifice of praise in thanksgiving for all that God has made good, beautiful, and just in creation and in humanity.

The Eucharist is a Sacrifice of Thanksgiving to the Father, a blessing by which the Church expresses her gratitude to God for all his benefits, for all that he has accomplished through Creation, redemption, and sanctification. Eucharist means first of all "thanksgiving."

The final doxology, "For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours, now and forever," takes up again, by inclusion, the first three petitions to our Father: the glorification of his name, the coming of his reign, and the power of his saving will. But these Prayers are now proclaimed as adoration and Thanksgiving, as in the liturgy of heaven. 176 The ruler of this world has mendaciously attributed to himself the three titles of kingship, power, and glory. 177 Christ, the Lord, restores them to his Father and our Father, until he hands over the kingdom to him when the mystery of Salvation will be brought to its completion and God will be all in all. 178