This makes no sense. Gratitude leads to signing up for obligations, in virtually every aspect of life. It is God who forms and cultivates Gratitude in our hearts, not "the self." To dismiss Gratitude as a mere passing and unreliable fancy is entirely unwarranted.
From my observation, Evangelical Protestant church members significantly outstrip their Catholic counterparts in willingness to volunteer their time and money for the cause of Christ (notwithstanding that many Catholics do act on their faith).
Evangelical love is mighty thick when it has a chance to grow. Human gratitude my mortal derriere! This is getting caught up in the great spiritual circuit of the Trinity.
And... I would caution! If a Roman Catholic is ignorant of being caught up in God’s salvation and thinks that certain rituals (however sincerely performed) are what get him as a Christian wrapped up in Heaven... then I’d question if that Roman Catholic ever knew salvation! This is the Everlasting Arms which are ALREADY underneath... in the Hebrew it uses the same word for “underneath” that is used for “hind end” (b’tachat) i.e. God has already got your six... He’s ready to act... what you need to do is to accept Him picking you up. And the result will be supernatural gratitude. Now a wild adventure may and usually will follow!