A question recently came to the editor’s desk about the fact that St. Ignatius believed ingratitude to be “the cause, beginning, and origin of all evils and sins.” The quote is from a letter dated March 18, 1542, cited in this helpful article on gratitude by Brian J. Lehane, SJ. Fr. Lehane writes:
Perhaps God doesn’t necessarily want us always to be saying “thank you” so much as to be noticing how much we are loved and cared for by Him and, in turn, to respond by living a life of gratitude. Grateful people tend to be more generous and magnanimous with others.
Jim Manney talks more about the problem of ingratitude in A Gratitude Deficit.
