Thanksgiving"All Paul's letters begin with a prayer of thanksgiving. Paul knows how to give thanks, and his words do not come from an empty formula but express what he feels. The earliest section of the New Testament is the First Letter to the Thessalonians. Therefore, probably the first words of the New Testament to be written were 'Grace to you and peace. We give thanks to God always for you all. '(1 Thessalonians 1: 1-2)
Paul has the capacity always to see the good first. Beginning every letter with thanks means that he knows how to value primarily the positive in whatever community he is writing to, even if there are some weighty, negative things that will need to be said."
--Carlo Maria Martini, SJ
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