“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is ‘Thank You,’ that will be enough.” These are the famous words of the medieval German Mystic, Meister Eckhart. Knowing that deeper meanings are often lost in both translations and modern-day expressions, I couldn’t help but think that these words of the great Meister might be more significant than a casual expression of gratitude. Thus I began to explore the subtle differences between the meaning of the phrase “Thank You” and its Latin counterpart “gratias tibi ago.”
In today’s world, “Thank you” is generally a polite and informal expression used when acknowledging a gift, service, or compliment; while the Latin phrase for thank you “gratias tibi ago,” literally means “Thanks to You I give.” And so as I was reflecting on my Thanksgiving list (see below) and the role that God plays in all that I have to be thankful for, I began to more clearly understand the unspoken role that humility plays in Eckhart’s simple prayer of “Thank You.”
Below is my 2025 Thanksgiving list:
- I am thankful for the sun, for without the sun, there would not be any life here on planet earth.
- I am thankful for the Earth, the seas, the tides, the air, the soils and the seasons, for without these I would have neither food nor life.
- I am thankful for all the living creatures, and the nourishment that they give to my mind, body and spirit.
- I am thankful for my own body, and its miraculous arrangement of its trillions of cells that allow me to celebrate and experience so many aspects of life.
- I am thankful for my family and friends, and how the expressions of human love give added joy to the meaning of life.
- I am thankful for the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and the role that they play in guiding me through Life.
- And lastly, I am thankful for our Creator God, without Whom none of the above would be possible!
And so during this Season of Giving Thanks, my heart echoes the following:
“Dear God, Thanks to You I give, for I humbly and gratefully acknowledge that without You and all of Your great works, my Life as I know it could not exist.”
Happy Thanksgiving!
P.S. Many thanks to Meister Eckhart for all of his great teachings, and especially for this wonderful reminder of the importance of expressing sincere and humble gra