Dear Friends,
“Oh Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever (Ps. 30:12)
The celebration of the twentieth anniversary (May 24, 1991- May 24, 2011) of
the presence of Don Bosco in Phnom Penh reinforced our feelings of gratitude to God,
our Lady, our Salesian saints and many benefactors. In the spirit of St. John Bosco,
gratitude has been said to mold and shape our entire Salesian life and mission.
This basic attitude of saying ‘THANK YOU”, is referred as the heart of our Christian
life. As Christians we were always encouraged to praise and give gratitude to our God
and Creator, the selfless giver of all good things. This sense of gratitude is an
acknowledgement of God’s generosity that inspires us to shape our own thoughts and
actions around such ideals. In turn, we give our lives in the integral formation of poor
and marginalized children/young people.
Studies show that grateful people have higher levels of well-being. Grateful people are
happier, less depressed, less stressed and more satisfies with their lives and social relationships.
Grateful people have higher control of their environments, personal growth, purpose in life and self-
acceptance. Grateful people are optimists!
According to Cicero, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of the virtues but the parent of all others”. It is also said that gratitude is
one of the strongest links with mental health of any character trait and that grateful people can cope better with life transition as
grateful people have more positive ways of coping with the difficulties they experience in life, being more likely to seek support
from other people, reinterpret and grow from their experiences and spend more time planning how to deal with the problem. So,
dear friends, don’t get tired of giving thanks. Thank you.
