We think of November as the month of gratitude because of Thanksgiving. As Catholics, we also associate it with the saints due to All Saints Day on the first of the month. Let’s put that together.

The saints are a great example of gratitude. They found joy amidst their suffering, peace in their trials. Can we not do the same in our own way? Couldn’t we use a little more gratitude in our lives?

10 Saints that Teach Us About Gratitude

The saints have so much to teach us about gratitude, so let’s start learning. Here’s 10 saints to help teach us about gratitude.

St. Josephine Bakhita, Apostle of Gratitude

St. Bakhita was kidnapped as a child and sold into slavery, suffering much at the hands of her masters until rescued and brought to Italy. She was in the care of the Canossian sisters in Venice where she learned about Jesus and consecrated herself to the Lord. She’s known as the Apostle of Gratitude because she credits her captors for leading her on a path to know Jesus.

“If I would stay kneel down all my life, I will never express enough my gratitude towards the good Lord.”

St. Bernadette Soubirous

St. Bernadette made every point in her life a moment of gratitude, from poverty to ridicule, she gave thanks to God for all her sufferings. Here are some of her words.

“For the poverty in which my mother and father lived, for the failure of the mill, all the hard times, for the awful sheep, for constant tiredness, thank you, my God! For lips, which I was feeding too much, for the dirty noses of the children, for the guarded sheep, I thank you! For my spelling, which I never learned, for the memory that I never had, for my ignorance and for my stupidity, thank you.”

St. Bernadette is the visionary of Lourdes, France. It was there she saw Our Lady 18 times while she was only 14 years old. After, Bernadette became a nun and devoted her life to prayer.

St. Francis of Assisi

St. Francis had a wild conversion from wealth to poverty when he found faith. He founded the Franciscan Order and is known for both rebuilding churches and his love for animals, including his taming of a wolf!

He’s known for praying simply, “My God and my all!” In such simplicity, he praised the Lord and gave himself over to Jesus. He’s also known for his Peace Prayer.

We can learn from his simplicity and his gratefulness in the small things in life.

St. Ignatius of Loyola

His story is another of conversion to poverty. St. Ignatius found peace in simplicity. He made gratitude part of his spiritual exercises. He gave his all to the Lord, as noted by this prayer of his:

“Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, all I have and call my own. You have given all to me. To you, Lord, I return it. Everything is yours; do with it what you will. Give me only your love and your grace. That is enough for me.”

St. Faustina Kowalska

St. Faustina gave thanks to God for all things, calling many of them her “daily little crosses.” She kept a Gratitude List in diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul. She wrote of the Lord’s message of mercy in her famed diary. She’s the visionary who gave us the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

“I immersed myself in a profound prayer of thanksgiving. Oh, how great is God’s generosity! Blessed be the Lord, who is faithful in His promises!” (Diary, 1300)

St. Josemaria Escriva

A Spanish priest from about a hundred years ago, and founder of Opus Dei, St. Josemaria Escriva pressed a need for constant gratitude in ordinary life. Some of his quotes on gratitude:

“Thank Him for everything, because everything is good.”

“When you receive a hard knock, a cross, you should not be downcast. Rather the reverse: with a happy face you should give thanks to God.”

“We could sum up the thankfulness that we owe as children of God by saying to this Father of ours, now and always, serviam!: I will serve you.”

St. Martin de Tours

St. Martin de Tours teaches us to not only be grateful for what we have, but to share it with others. When we open our hearts to Christ, we go from gratitude to charity. He’s known for cutting his cloak in half to share what he had. He lived a life of humility to the point that he tried to hide when they wanted to make him a bishop. It was a goose’s honk that gave him away, and now it’s a goose that has unironically become his symbol.

St. John of Avila

This Spanish priest and Doctor of the Church is known for his fiery spirit when denouncing vices. With great love for Christ, St. John of Avila spoke out against indifference and excessive wealth. He was even a mentor to St. Ignatius!

When we put aside vices and excessive wealth (even the mere desire of it), we become more grateful for what we have.

“A single ‘Blessed be God’ in adversity is worth more than a thousand acts of thanksgiving in prosperity.”

St. Teresa of Calcutta

Those of my generation remember her as Mother Teresa. She was kind, passionate for the needs of the poor, and gentle. St. Teresa left her home for life as a missionary. She then left her convent to live among the poor as one of them.

She teaches us to thank God for everything and accept everything with joy. Her life was a testament to the simplicity of loving Christ and thanking God for all things.

Perhaps my favorite story of her is this:

She was taking a small child to a baker to beg for some bread. The baker spit in her face. She said, “Thank you for that gift. Now, perhaps, something for the child.”

St. Paul

St. Paul thought he was doing God’s work by persecuting Christians, until God knocked him off his horse and blinded him. Soon, he was commissioned by Jesus to spread the gospel to the gentiles and his letters fill the New Testament. Think he was grateful? These Bible quotes should say enough.

“In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” (1Thess 5:18)

“And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:17)

“giving thanks always and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.” (Ephesians 5:20)

“Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.” (Philippians 4:6)

Gratitude Like the Saints

When we become grateful like the saints, we’re likely to praise God more and complain less. We can grow in the virtue of patience and understanding. We can see more clearly those around who need us. We can be Christ to the world.

So let’s me more like the saints and be grateful for all God provides. Let’s praise the Lord in all circumstances and be thankful to all those around us.

There are many more saints that model gratitude—and many more Bible verses. Who’s your favorite saint who models gratitude? What’s your favorite Bible verse? Let us know!