Thanksgiving 2023 - Natural and Supernatural Gratitude

 

Thanksgiving is not an explicitly Christian holiday, it’s not a feast day of the Christian Church, even in the United States. Yet, it certainly has a religious dimension, the character of what the medieval called “the virtue of religion.” Even people without religion, do something, kind of religious today. 

The word “religion” comes from the latin word religare which means to bind. And so religion deals with the most important bonds in the human experience, our bonds--our relationships--our most important bond, our bond to God, and also the bonds of family, friendship, nation, the goods of the earth, and our neighbor. 

So even the civic holiday of Thanksgiving finds people even without religion, doing something that is part of our religious impulse, our religious hard-wiring. To give thanks. Now, the atheists among us, obviously do not turn their minds and hearts to God in thanksgiving. But even many atheists will acknowledge the importance of being thankful. To look at the good things that fill your life, and to express gratitude, even if it only means taking a day off work, to gather with loved ones.

And right there, in that exercise of religiosity, even the atheist becomes open to something bigger than themselves. 

Counting blessings, acknowledging the good things of your life, including the gift of life itself, makes for a more virtuous people. Gratitude is one of the pathways God uses to make Himself known to souls. Those who are practicing the natural virtues are well-disposed to begin practicing the supernatural virtues of faith, hope, and charity. So, the more people who are grateful today, the better. Thankfulness is the soil in which the soul thrives.

So it is a very good thing, that our nation, amidst all of our political and social divisions, continues to celebrate this civic holiday. It is a day for refreshing society in the living waters of gratitude. 

Now many Catholics, like ourselves, rightly begin the day coming to Holy Mass. Even though today is not a holy day of obligation, we gather at the altar to pray for our nation, and pray for our families. We pray in gratitude for the good things that fill our lives, particularly our salvation in Jesus Christ of course, but asking God to help us participate well, in a dignified way, in an effective way in the civic holiday, asking God to bless the people we’re going to spend the day with, whether they are actively practicing Catholics or not. 

And to pray that, we may be good examples of holy gratitude for them. Because if non-Catholics don’t see gratitude in us today, why would they ever consider our way of life. If your practice of Christianity does not produce gratitude in you, you’re probably doing it wrong. For supernatural gratitude is a fruit of the Holy Spirit which grows in souls united to Jesus Christ.

So may God help us today to be truly thankful for the gifts with which we’ve been blessed, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls. 

 

That the pilgrim Church on earth may shine as a light to the nations.  

For the safety of travelers, the peaceful resolution of all family divisions and national hostilities, for protection from disease, for the lonely and forgotten, and harmony amongst all those who gather together today.

For the protection of our armed forces, police, and firemen and all those who risk their lives to preserve the security of our country.  

For the poor, the hungry, the homeless, the sick, the aged, the lonely, the grieving, those who are out of work, those who are facing financial difficulties, those with addictions, and the imprisoned: that God will draw close to them, and bless them with grace and peace.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased clergy and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom, 

O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.

Thanksgiving Day 2020 - Catholic Squanto, Religious Tolerance, and Gratitude

Thanksgiving is not an explicitly Christian holiday; it’s not a feast day of the Church, even in the United States. Yet, it certainly has a religious dimension, for on thanksgiving we turn to God, the author of all Goodness, to give thanks for those things which we value most: family, friendship, nation, the goods of the earth, and our neighbor.

In the year 1615, an English explorer Thomas Hunt, a compatriot of the famous John Smith, captured a group of Native Americans to sell them on the slave trade. One of these Native Americans was Squanto.  The group was rescued by Catholic Franciscans Friars, who baptized Squanto and catechized him in the Catholic faith.  Squanto went to England where he worked in the shipyards and became fluent in English.  

Squanto returned to his Native America where he was living for about 5 years when the pilgrims left England in order to pursue a Calvinist Utopia in Massachusetts because they thought the Anglicans were “too Catholic”.  The pilgrims however had no food and were starving.  Squanto, hearing of their distress, came to their aid teaching them how to grow corn and to fish.  Thanks to Catholic Squanto they celebrated their first successful harvest in 1621, the first Thanksgiving.

Not long after, Squanto was abducted by another group of hostile Native Americans, and the pilgrims whom Squanto had helped, dropped everything to go and save him. Already, our land was beginning to take shape as a place of religious toleration and mutual cooperation. A place where people of different beliefs could work together.

So the Thanksgiving meal has a history of people even of different faiths sitting down at table together. It is not that we ignore the divisions, strife, pain, friction, brokenness, or sorrow out there. But it is a very important human need to stop and give thanks. It’s not a day for political arguments, but for the refreshing of society. Thomas Aquinas said, gratitude is the “mark of a happy disposition to see good rather than evil.” So, take time today with those you love, to count the blessings; as St. Paul writes to the Philippians, “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy” speak about these things.

Thankfulness is the soil in which the soul thrives, in which families and nations thrive. May this day be filled with a deep sense of gratitude to God, free from turmoil, division, and discord, that those most important bonds may be strengthened and refresh our society for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That people of good will may work together against attacks on religious liberty and the Christian Faith to pursue together the building up of God’s kingdom.  We pray to the Lord.

For the protection of our armed forces, police, and firemen and all those who risk their lives to preserve the security of our country.  We pray to the Lord.

For the safety of travelers, the peaceful resolution of all family divisions, and national hostilities, for protection from disease, and harmony amongst all those who gather together today.

For the poor, the hungry, the homeless, the sick, the aged, the lonely, the grieving, those who are out of work, those who are facing financial difficulties, those with addictions, and the imprisoned: that God will draw close to them, and bless them with grace and peace.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased clergy and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom, and For Our Country, Our Constitution & Religious Liberty, for which this Mass is offered. 

O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.

Thanksgiving Day 2019 - The religious duty to give thanks

Thanksgiving is not an explicitly Christian holiday, it’s not a feast day of the Church, even in the United States. And yet, Thanksgiving Day certainly resonates with our deep religious impulse, what the philosophers call the “virtue of religion”.

 The word “religion” comes from the latin word religare which means to bind. And so religion deals with the most important bonds in the human experience, our most important bond, our bond to God, and also the bonds of family, friendship, nation, the goods of the earth, and our neighbor. To be religious is to fulfill our duty towards these bonds.

And so this civic holiday of Thanksgiving meets this universal religious impulse and religious duty to give thanks for these things. Which is why we fill Thanksgiving with the things we value and are most grateful: friends, family, food, football for some, and hopefully some prayer.

Many Catholics, like ourselves, rightly begin the day by going to Holy Mass, even though it’s not a holy day of obligation. Like the Leper in the Gospel today, having acknowledged that we have received blessing from God, we return to God to give thanks. We turn to God, with great gratitude, for the gift of our salvation, for the good things that fill our lives, and asking God to bless the people we’re going to spend the day with, whether they go to Mass or not.

Around the Thanksgiving table many families still have the very healthy practice of each naming something that they are grateful for. Naming blessings, counting our blessings, adding up the good things of your life, including the gift of life itself, is in a sense a religious duty. To call to mind the blessings and the sources of those blessings and to give thanks for those blessings.

St. Thomas Aquinas said that gratitude is the “mark of a happy disposition to see good rather than evil.” Thankfulness is the soil in which the soul thrives.

Now, it is not that we ignore the divisions, strife, pain, friction, brokenness, or sorrow in the world. In fact, gratefulness should lead us to help alleviate the troubles in the world. But, today we focus not so much on division, but on the real human need to stop and give thanks. Today is not so much a day for political arguments, but for refreshing society, our families, and our souls through gratitude for the time and blessings we’ve been given.

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I forget how important it is to be thankful to God, but that makes today, and the celebration of thanksgiving so important, that what we do here today may carry over, into every day of our lives, for Christians are called to be a people who live in perpetual gratitude, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the pilgrim Church on earth may shine as a light to the nations.  We pray to the Lord.

That all people of good will may work together against attacks on religious liberty and the Christian Faith.  We pray to the Lord.

For the protection of our armed forces, police, and firemen and all those who risk their lives to preserve the security of our country.  We pray to the Lord.

For the safety of travelers, the peaceful resolution of all family divisions, and national hostilities, for protection from disease, and harmony amongst all those who gather together today.

For the poor, the hungry, the homeless, the sick, the aged, the lonely, the grieving, those who are out of work, those who are facing financial difficulties, those with addictions, and the imprisoned: that God will draw close to them, and bless them with grace and peace.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased clergy and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.

Thanksgiving Day 2018 - Harvest Feasts and Eucharistic Thanksgiving

Throughout the course of mankind's history, the Earth's bountiful harvest has been celebrated with ceremonies of giving thanks. The ancient pagans celebrated the fall harvest as particularly important because it was a matter of life and death; the fall harvest was essential for the survival of the cold and fruitless winter.

Each autumn, the ancient Greeks celebrated the three-day festival of Thesmosphoria to honor Demeter,  the goddess of grain, and to plead that springtime, characterized by Demeter’s daughter Persephone, would come quickly. The Romans celebrated their autumn festival with music, parades, games and sports and a thanksgiving feast—making our modern thanksgiving festivities closer to the Romans than the Pilgrims. Israel also celebrated an autumn harvest festival—the feast of tabernacles—Sukkoth, an eight-day festival of thanksgiving following Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement. Atonement proceeded thanksgiving, just like it does in the Holy Mass which begins with the penitential rite.

John’s Gospel records Our Blessed Lord traveling to Jerusalem for the festival of thanksgiving, as he must have done many times in his life. It was on the last day of the Jewish feast of thanksgiving, that the Lord utilized some feast-language and pronounced , “If anyone thirst, let him come to me and drink.”

For Christians, every time we gather at the altar, we gather first and foremost as an act of thanksgiving. The earliest Christians used the Greek word for thanksgiving—Eucharistia—to describe their gathering on the Lord’s Day—to give thanksgiving to God for the gift of salvation, which Jesus won for us on the cross. At the Eucharistic feast, the fruits of the earthly harvest, wheat and grapes, bread and wine, are transformed into the very saving body and blood of Jesus, the one, true Lord of the Harvest. In an ancient prayer the Church acclaims the mystery of the Eucharist: "O sacred banquet in which Christ is received as food, the memory of his Passion is renewed, the soul is filled with grace and a pledge of the life to come is given to us."

Gratitude, Eucharistia, is such a fundamental Christian attitude. Without gratitude, without Eucharist, we begin to take for granted the blessings of our life, we begin to forget about the author and giver of those blessings, we begin to forget about the sacrifice without which the gates of heaven would have remained closed. Without gratitude, without Eucharist, we begin to forget that we are to use the time we’ve been given, the blessings we’ve been given, for God’s will, not our own.

Many of our contemporaries gather today with barely a hint of the ancient or Christian impulse to return thanksgiving to God. Much like in the Gospel today, only one out of ten lepers who had received healing from Jesus returned giving thanks. Jesus praises his faith. Faith that acknowledges that blessing, healing, fruitfulness, life comes from God, is praised by Jesus. In fact, it was only that one whom Jesus pronounced saved, go forth, your faithful gratitude has saved you.

So we rightly gather today, for those with faith and those without, to give thanksgiving to God for the earthly harvest which sustains our physical lives, and the more important spiritual bounty which sustains our spiritual lives, the eucharist, a foretaste of the heavenly banquet to come.

May each of your family gatherings be blessed today, with a deep sense of gratitude to God, may they be free from turmoil, division, and discord, and deepen the bonds of charity between all with whom you gather. May we use the time we’ve been given, the blessings and freedoms we enjoy, to gather souls to Christ, that they may know his mercy, peace, and joy, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the pilgrim Church on earth may shine as a light to the nations.  We pray to the Lord.

That all people of good will may work together against attacks on religious liberty and the Christian Faith.  We pray to the Lord.

For the protection of our armed forces, police, and firemen and all those who risk their lives to preserve the security of our country.  We pray to the Lord.

For the safety of travelers, the peaceful resolution of all family divisions and national hostilities, for protection from disease, and harmony amongst all those who gather together today.

For the poor, the hungry, the homeless, the sick, the aged, the lonely, the grieving, those who are out of work, those who are facing financial difficulties, those with addictions, and the imprisoned: that God will draw close to them, and bless them with grace and peace.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased clergy and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom, and for Chester Trzcinski for whom this mass is offered.

O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.