Sharp penance for remembered sins helps stouthearted Christians seize heaven, but gentler souls like Our Blessed Lady and scores of her saints have trod a different path. Their souls are possessed by gratitude, inspired by the remembrance of past benefits, and filled with wonder at the abundant loving-kindness of God. As Father Faber shows, gratitude is the fertile soil from which springs an ardent, exuberant love of Christ – a love that can be yours as well. These wise pages reveal the critical role that gratitude plays in your sanctification, and they’ll remind you of the many things the Lord has given you for which you should be grateful each moment of every day. Here you’ll also learn: That thanksgiving is the very essence of Christian worshipWhy gratitude is easiest way to heaven and the surest path to joyHow gratitude dissolves pride even faster than penanceHow gratitude can make you like the Angels themselvesThat ingratitude is the hidden sin of too many good people (What about you?)Why you should even be grateful — yes — for blessings received by your enemiesHow gratitude often wins souls more quickly than preachingWhy it’s scandalous that we neglect gratitude more than prayerWhy you should even be grateful for your troublesThat gratitude brings far more blessings than most of us ever suspectHear in this small book the voices of so many saints who knew that gratitude is the very key to holiness: St. Alphonsus de Liguori, St. Bernard of Clairvaux, St. Bonaventure, St. Bridget of Sweden, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Francis de Sales, St. Francis Xavier, St. Gertrude, St. Gregory of Nyssa, St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Jane Frances de Chantal, St. Jerome, St. John Chrysostom, St. John of Avila, St. John of God, St. Lawrence Justinian, St. Louis of France, St. Peter Faber, St. Philip Neri, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Thomas Aquinas, and many others.