To be grateful to God and others for all they have done for us and for others is obligatory and truly praiseworthy: to be aware of what we are by the grace of the God of life, thanks to our parents, our families, to our teachers, to our friends and so many persons who have shown their love, sacrificed their lives for us, given us confidence, formation, support and a lot more.
Certainly, beginning with God, he has offered all this expecting nothing in return; it is purely out of love and so gratuitous.
But certainly the gifts we have received make us responsible before God and others. These gifts are not for our use, but for the good of “the whole body”, as St. Paul would say. That is why we should feel impelled to respond to the generous love as Father Claret did. It must be first of all, through our gratefulness and then generously making fruitful the gift we have received.
With his great humility, Claret recognized himself as a “pack-mule” loaded with jewels, namely, bearer of a wealth that did not belong to him. And he considered that those gifts and abilities could not be left unfruitful. It is here we see his incredible work rate. It seems that during his life he did not sleep more than 3 or 4 hours. It is only thus he could write 120 literary works with an educative- pastoral approach despite dedicating a greater part of his days for preaching, spiritual direction and attending the penitents in the confessional.
How do we thank and respond to God for all the good we have received from him?