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Praise And Thanks, Humble Servants of the Divine Will.

Thoughts Arising from the Writings of Merlyn Carruthers

by Anscar McPhee OSB

I discovered Praise and Thanks as a way of living in supreme
peace at all times, written up in some old paperbacks by one

Merlin Caruthers. It was all in the Scriptures but just needed
him to underline and trace it out through his own many

experiences. I tried it myself, repeatedly, over many years and

have shared it with countless others. It is indeed the way to go,
the way of spiritual growth and the way to deal with life’s crises,

indeed the way to peace.

The gist of it is that we are to Praise God for everything that
happens to us just as it is, just how it is, and then , thank Him

for His Perfect Plan for us. You hear people praising God for

nice things, for a sunny day, a job well done, a beautiful view,
but you don’t hear them praising Him when disagreeable

things, disasters befall us, and yet Scripture tells us to praise

God for everything, every single thing. In all the circumstances
of our lives, besides all the happy and convenient things that

come our way, there are those that are quite soul-destroying,

irritating, infuriating, deeply saddening, some things indeed that
are quite sick. We are to step out in faith regardless, and

looking only at God, praise and thank Him for everything.

People are shocked when it is suggested that all such things

are to be an occasion for praise and thanks. I myself would
formerly have felt the same – that praising God when life’s

horrors strike, would have seemed insulting to Him, but wait,

we must see what the Word of God has to say about it.
Immediately, to close our minds to the whole idea, would be to

shut out the mysterious gift of God especially when we admit
we have our backs against the wall. If God really is Love then

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