Gratefulness: The Habit of a Grace-Filled Life

by Susan Muto

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 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 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.

224 pages, Paperback

Published February 2, 2018

Reviews

[Aaron Loy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Susan Muto's "Gratefulness" is the best book I've found on the importance of gratitude in a Christian's life. Unlike other books that only take a cursory glance at the subject, Muto takes the time to examine many parts of a grateful life including the benefits of positivity, dangers of negativity, redemptive power of prayer, signs of progress, and lasting fruits of thankfulness. Within those topics, she also "keeps it real" by moving beyond basic principles and gives real-world, everyday examples of thoughts and actions to make her points come across in a practical way, which I really appreciated.

The only downside to the book is that there are many references to historical Catholic leaders as examples of grateful living. There is clearly a Catholic slant, as many of the given literary examples are sensationalized, consistently referred to as "classics" and "masterpieces." It would have been nice to include Protestant leaders' stories and writings as well. On that point, as some of the given anecdotes may be inspiring, much of their "grateful living" is seen through a monastic lifestyle. This is not necessarily the life that God calls us to live, however. Living in a community that engages with the world is an integral part of being a follower of Christ.

Favorite Passage:

"Lord, there was no time when you thought of yourself more than others. You forfeited your life out of love for us. You emptied yourself for our sakes. You showed us the way to be released from prisons of our own making. Be with us as we cross the bridge from self-centered passions to that place of grace where we bend our whole beings in the direction of meeting others’ needs. Only when we do so can we experience what it means to be and become another Christ. Implant in our consciousness a compass directing us away from focusing only on what we want. Make us more compassionate toward others. Help us remember that in the end, selfishness only causes our hearts to grow cold. Forgive us for being indifferent, for lacking in charity. Let us experience the joy of forgetting ourselves so that we can mirror the light of that self-forgetful, wholly appreciative love enkindled in our souls by you."

[Dave Wheeler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that carries a real punch to it and one that in my view needs to be read, Susan Muto combines her knowledge and understanding along with some of the great Saints from our history that enhances one of the powerful messages of the Christian faith. This is a subject that is often written about but in such a soft and flowery way that it may leave you with a o how wonderful i must try that which isn't a bad thing but what Susan has done is to wright a book that demonstrates that this is a life style we need to embrace and not just admire. It is a life style that has changed not just individuals but their environments which leads to the building up of others and communities. But I guess you well have to read it to fully appreciate what Susan has done and if I'm right or not. I have been given a free copy of this book from NetGalley in return for a honest review.

[Lecy Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't care for this book. It was written in the style of a devotional and focused on why we should be grateful. The author is writing from a Catholic perspective and includes a lot of scripture references, but I didn't' feel that it meshed together well. One of the main themes in the book is that gratefulness is a gift from God and I don't know that I agree with that. I believe grace is a gift from God as are all of the things we are blessed with, but gratefulness is our acknowledgment and expression of thankfulness for the grace and blessings bestowed upon us. I just didn't click with this one. *ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is exploring the concept of gratefulness from a Catholic perspective. I'm Protestant not Catholic but still expected to enjoy and get a lot from this book. Unfortunately it disappointed. It weaves personal stories with scripture, which can be done seamlessly, but in this case the writing felt awkward switching from high-minded theological terminology to an attempt to be more colloquial and approachable. This book did not work for me.

I received an ARC from NetGalley.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good book that, if you put it into practice, will change your life. It is written by a Roman Catholic woman so it uses Roman Catholic language, but that shouldn't stop people who aren't Roman Catholic from enjoying the book.

[Michelle Castaneda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gratefulness: That Habit of Grace-Filled Life by Susan Muto is full of reflections on why we should be grateful. The author provides a Catholic perspective on this topic and distinguishes gratefulness from positivity. She explains that whatever we are going through can never compare to what Jesus suffered on the cross for us. Overall, the book is full of reflections like this. I think this is a pretty good book on this topic. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.