Gratitude
Gratitude is a pretty simple concept, but is something that many people find hard to practice. Being grateful requires simply noticing something good in your life and responding with thanks. Noticing more good things, feeling gratitude for them, and thanking the people who made those good things possible builds positivity and happiness in both the grateful person and the thanked people. This creates a spreading circle of gratitude and kindness.
Because learning to be grateful requires practice, UTO provides materials and creates opportunities for anyone to begin or deepen a gratitude practice.
There are many good things that happen in our lives that we can’t say thank you for, such as a beautiful sunrise or recovery from illness. In these moments, UTO members make a thank offering either online or in a Blue Box as a way of sharing their gratitude.
Practice Gratitude at Home with UTO
One of the first things we teach children is to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ but do we teach them why we say thank you? Gratitude is one of those things that many of us think we understand or do well, but often aren’t intentional about doing. Practicing gratitude intentionally can have a magnitude of effects on our daily personal, physical, and spiritual lives. UTO hopes to encourage and inspire a daily practice of gratitude for all with resources for families of all shapes, sizes and ages.
Practice Gratitude in Your Parish with UTO
While UTO is a personal spiritual discipline of gratitude, we encourage you to invite others to join you in this important practice and bring UTO to your parish.
We believe the work of gratitude is meant for everyone, and we have created various liturgical and formation resources to help make gratitude more accessible. These resources are free for you to use as you please – on your own, with your kids, at your parish, or in your small group.
UTO Scholars Conference
Gratitude is a core principle of Christianity, and we believe that practicing gratitude can change your life. It is important that gratitude is explored and researched, especially in the academic realm. To this point, we created the UTO Scholars Conference – an academic yet accessible conference in which scholars research and speak on gratitude.