--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To be grateful is to recognize the Love…" description: "\"To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us - and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His lo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/786/thomas-merton-231_awakening_to-be-grateful-is-to-recognize-the-love_1930011.jpg" --- # To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in… ![“To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us - and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him. Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never…” quote by Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/786/thomas-merton-231_awakening_to-be-grateful-is-to-recognize-the-love_1930011.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/786/thomas-merton-231_awakening_to-be-grateful-is-to-recognize-the-love_1930011.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/786/thomas-merton-231_awakening_to-be-grateful-is-to-recognize-the-love_1930011.jpg) > “To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us - and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him. Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what makes all the difference.” [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Gratitude means seeing God's love in all gifts, leading to constant wonder and praise. **In simple terms:** Seeing God's love in everything creates gratitude. Key Takeaway Practice daily gratitude for all blessings. Themes spirituality gratitude faith mindfulness purpose Mood reflective hopeful Type spiritual inspirational When to use this quote - prayer - journaling - mindful walking - community service - reflection Key Concepts theology psychology of gratitude mindful awareness Questions to Reflect On - What daily practice deepens your sense of gratitude? - How does recognizing divine love affect your actions? A Different Perspective Gratitude can be challenged by hardship or doubt. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Awakening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awakening/) [Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) [Every moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-moment/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Goodness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goodness/) [Goodness of god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goodness-of-god/) [Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grace/) [Grateful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grateful/) [Gratitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratitude/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love of god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-of-god/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praise/) [Take nothing for granted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/take-nothing-for-granted/) [Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonder/) ## Related quotes > [The grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what makes all the difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-grateful-person-knows-that-god-is-good-not-by-hearsay-but-by/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Gratitude takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/gratitude-takes-nothing-for-granted-is-never-unresponsive-is/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [To be grateful is to recognize the love of God in everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/to-be-grateful-is-to-recognize-the-love-of-god-in-everything/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Every breath we draw is a gift of God's love; every moment of existence is a grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/every-breath-we-draw-is-a-gift-of-god-s-love-every-moment-of/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [I feel grateful that the person I end up working with a lot is Paul Rudd. He's a prince among men, and so talented,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-hahn/i-feel-grateful-that-the-person-i-end-up-working-with-a-lot-is-paul/) [Kathryn Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-hahn/) > [Embracing my origin has made me the confident and grateful person I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannie-mai/embracing-my-origin-has-made-me-the-confident-and-grateful-person-i-am/) [Jeannie Mai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannie-mai/) > [A grateful person is rich in contentment. An ungrateful person suffers in the poverty of endless discontentment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-bednar/a-grateful-person-is-rich-in-contentment-an-ungrateful-person-suffers/) [David A. Bednar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-a-bednar/) > [“You are so in love with your own profligate freedom that you refuse to even be grateful to another person lest you be weighed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffany-reisz/you-are-so-in-love-with-your-own-profligate-freedom-that-you-refuse/) [Tiffany Reisz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffany-reisz/) > [The grateful person, being still the most severe exacter of himself, not only confesses, but proclaims, his debts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-south/the-grateful-person-being-still-the-most-severe-exacter-of-himself/) [Robert South](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-south/) > [My mum's always been a grateful person, a considerate, philosophical kind of person who just tries to do the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/koffee/my-mum-s-always-been-a-grateful-person-a-considerate-philosophical/) [Koffee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/koffee/) > [A grateful person is rich in contentment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-bednar/a-grateful-person-is-rich-in-contentment/) [David A. Bednar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-a-bednar/) > [The Universe loves a grateful person. The more you thank Life, the more Life will give you to be thankful for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-hay/the-universe-loves-a-grateful-person-the-more-you-thank-life-the-more/) [Louise Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-hay/) > [The grateful person fears no court or judge, no sentence or executioner, but what he carries about him in his own breast: and being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-south/the-grateful-person-fears-no-court-or-judge-no-sentence-or/) [Robert South](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-south/) > [Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago. The person sitting in the shade now should be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/someone-s-sitting-in-the-shade-today-because-someone-planted-a-tree-a-2/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [“Dearest," she murmured, "as you know, there was a time when it didn't matter to me whether I married a man I loved or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/dearest-she-murmured-as-you-know-there-was-a-time-when-it-didn-t/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) ## More by Thomas Merton > [“Let no one hope to find in contemplation an escape from conflict, from anguish or from doubt. On the contrary, the deep, inexpressible certitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/let-no-one-hope-to-find-in-contemplation-an-escape-from-conflict-from/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [If nothing that can be seen can either be God or represent Him to us as He is, then to find God we must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-nothing-that-can-be-seen-can-either-be-god-or-represent-him-to-us/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [It is almost impossible to overestimate the value of true humility and its power in the spiritual life. For the beginning of humility is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/it-is-almost-impossible-to-overestimate-the-value-of-true-humility/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [We are not perfectly free until we live in pure hope. For when our hope is pure, it no longer trusts exclusively in human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/we-are-not-perfectly-free-until-we-live-in-pure-hope-for-when-our/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [The desire to kill is like the desire to attack another with an ingot of red -hot iron: I have to pick up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-desire-to-kill-is-like-the-desire-to-attack-another-with-an-ingot/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [To enter into the realm of contemplation one must in a certain sense die: but this death is in fact the entrance to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/to-enter-into-the-realm-of-contemplation-one-must-in-a-certain-sense/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [The mission of Christian humility in social life is not merely to edify, but to keep minds open to many alternatives. The rigidity of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-mission-of-christian-humility-in-social-life-is-not-merely-to/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Peace cannot be built on exclusivism, absolutism, and intolerance. But neither can it be built on vague liberal slogans and pious programs gestated in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/peace-cannot-be-built-on-exclusivism-absolutism-and-intolerance-but/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Things that are good are good, and if one is responding to that goodness one is in contact with a truth from which one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/things-that-are-good-are-good-and-if-one-is-responding-to-that/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Love winter when the plant says nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/love-winter-when-the-plant-says-nothing/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [The logic of worldly success rests on a fallacy: the strange error that our perfection depends on the thoughts and opinions and applause of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-logic-of-worldly-success-rests-on-a-fallacy-the-strange-error/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [“The wisdom of the flesh is a judgement that the ordinary ends of our natural appetites are the goods to which the whole of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-wisdom-of-the-flesh-is-a-judgement-that-the-ordinary-ends-of-our/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [I will no longer wound myself with the thoughts and questions that have surrounded me like thorns: that is a penance You do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/i-will-no-longer-wound-myself-with-the-thoughts-and-questions-that/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [If you write for God you will reach many men and bring them joy. If you write for men--you may make some money and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-you-write-for-god-you-will-reach-many-men-and-bring-them-joy-if/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [“Contemplation means rest, suspension of activity, withdrawal into the mysterious interior solitude in which the soul is absorbed in the immense and fruitful silence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/contemplation-means-rest-suspension-of-activity-withdrawal-into-the/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) [Explore all 851 Thomas Merton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) ## More Awakening quotes > [It is natural that our minds replay old stories, because that is our own mechanism for trying to work out unresolved problems. Yet rerunning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-brach/it-is-natural-that-our-minds-replay-old-stories-because-that-is-our/) [Tara Brach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-brach/) > [Imitation is the first instinct of the awakening mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/imitation-is-the-first-instinct-of-the-awakening-mind/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [“It is not so much about fighting against the ego; it is more about harmonizing with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-sara/it-is-not-so-much-about-fighting-against-the-ego-it-is-more-about/) [Grace Sara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-sara/) > [Dawn's faint breath breathes with your mouth at the ends of empty streets. Gray light your eyes, sweet drops of dawn on dark hills.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/dawn-s-faint-breath-breathes-with-your-mouth-at-the-ends-of-empty/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [“Low states are a like a poison to the psyche. Millions of people throughout the world take tranquillizers each day to combat depression, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/belsebuub/low-states-are-a-like-a-poison-to-the-psyche-millions-of-people/) [Belsebuub](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/belsebuub/) > [The awakening of the soul to its bondage and its effort to stand up and assert itself - this is called life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/the-awakening-of-the-soul-to-its-bondage-and-its-effort-to-stand-up/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [My political awakening, if I can be as grand as to call it that, was all about what was happening around me. It wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-sturgeon/my-political-awakening-if-i-can-be-as-grand-as-to-call-it-that-was/) [Nicola Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-sturgeon/) > [How often have you sailed in my dreams. And now you come in my awakening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/how-often-have-you-sailed-in-my-dreams-and-now-you-come-in-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“CWC (Church Women Concerned) enabled us as women in that part of South Africa, to see ourselves as ordinary citizens who found themselves in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sindiwe-magona/cwc-church-women-concerned-enabled-us-as-women-in-that-part-of-south/) Sindiwe Magona > [I feel there is a great spiritual awakening on the planet right now. More than any previous time, people are drawn to meditation, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agapi-stassinopoulos/i-feel-there-is-a-great-spiritual-awakening-on-the-planet-right-now/) [Agapi Stassinopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agapi-stassinopoulos/) > [When I was 20 years old, I got cast in 'Spring Awakening' and got swept up in this experience where it was kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-groff/when-i-was-20-years-old-i-got-cast-in-spring-awakening-and-got-swept/) [Jonathan Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-groff/) > [Motivation is awakening own mind and Inspiration is arising spirit in others to find their own with their heart and soul in all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anuj/motivation-is-awakening-own-mind-and-inspiration-is-arising-spirit-in/) [Anuj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anuj/) > [“Everything we perceive to be solid and static is made up of almost entirely empty space.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-p-kauffman/everything-we-perceive-to-be-solid-and-static-is-made-up-of-almost/) [Joseph P. Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-p-kauffman/) > [Life is perhaps best regarded as a bad dream between two awakenings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/life-is-perhaps-best-regarded-as-a-bad-dream-between-two-awakenings/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [“The Illusion - The source of suffering can be linked back to a condition of the mind that creates the illusion of separation--the state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-blanchard/the-illusion-the-source-of-suffering-can-be-linked-back-to-a/) L.M.Blanchard [Browse all 1,440 Awakening quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awakening/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us - and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him. 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