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Gratefulness
The Habit of a Grace-Filled Life
Author: Susan Muto
Price: $15.95
Format: Paperback
Pages: 224
Trim size: 5.5 x 8.5 inches
ISBN: 978-1-59471-785-7
Imprint: Ave Maria Press
On-sale date: February 2, 2018
Description
"We look for happiness in all the wrong places. Susan Muto shows that it's to be found in a grateful heart. This is a very simple, very practical, very needed book."
Mike Aquilina
Author of A History of the Church in 100 Objects
In a consumer-driven world where we’re told we need and deserve more, Susan Muto, executive director of the Epiphany Association, reminds us that gratefulness is a gift from God. In Gratefulness: The Habit of a Grace-Filled Life, she reveals that grateful living is not another new fad but has been the way of saints and Christian mystics for centuries.
Many popular secular books today explore how embracing gratitude can lead to a happier, healthier life. In contrast, Muto, a renowned author, speaker, and teacher, approaches gratitude from a uniquely Catholic perspective.
In this insightful, inspiring book, she explores how life-changing a spirit of gratefulness can be by using both personal and well-known examples of the struggles and rewards of grateful living. Muto and companions such as Julian of Norwich, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Henri J. M. Nouwen, and Dorothy Day highlight the power of gratitude as a grace from God and walk with us as we learn to practice thankfulness.
We start the journey toward gratefulness by embracing gratitude in all circumstances and end it by thankfully accepting the missions God entrusts to each of us. Along the way, we begin to accept God’s grace by understanding
- the benefits of positivity and dangers of negativity,
- the redemptive power of prayer, and
- the lasting fruits of thankfulness.
A spirituality of gratitude reminds us that, even without the possessions, luxuries, or leisure time society claims are the most important things in life, God still loves, cares, and knows what’s best for us. Muto also provides practical tools that help us embrace this grace in our lives.
Praise
"A blessing."
"Susan Muto's reflections on the challenges of the Christian life together with insights gleaned from the saints help the reader understand the practical aspects of a life of holiness. Gratefulness is a blessing for all of us who seek to follow Christ in the midst of our everyday lives."
Rev. Gregory Jensen
Chaplain at University of Wisconsin–Madison
"Muto shines the joyful light of Christ."
"Even as much of the world sinks into the darkness of depreciation and offense, Susan Muto shines the joyful light of Christ upon the path of those yearning for something more than seeing only what is wrong with life."
Stephen L. Martyn
Asbury Theological Seminary
"Insights and practical guidance."
"Susan Muto's book gently offers insights and practical guidance on living a grateful life with distinctive counsel from 'a great cloud of witnesses' spanning the ages of Christian history. Come and read and join a company of grateful souls."
Rebecca S. Letterman
Associate professor of spiritual formation
Northeastern Seminary