Someone recently quipped that Thanksgiving was 'all about abundance' and cited the number of pies Bridget bakes for the feast as exhibit A for the abundance argument. Truth be told, I bake quite a few pies for this celebration. I love pie. My mom always baked pies for my birthday cakes, but I digress.
The heart of our celebration today centers on 'giving' thanks...to Someone. Getting stuffed on seasonal delicacies and saturated with televised sporting entertainment may be the hallmarks of the day in many American families, but the true meaning still remains: We give Thanks to God for His abundant blessings.
Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High. Call upon me in the day of trouble. I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me . . . Mark then you who forget God, lest I rend and there be none to deliver. He who brings thanksgiving as his sacrifice honors me. To him who orders his way aright, I will show the salvation of God. ~Psalm 50:14-15, 22-23
What better place to thank God than in His holy house, the Church? The word Eucharist means thanksgiving, and by God's grace our family will begin this secular holiday within God's house, praising Him and receiving Him in holy Eucharist. The rest of the holiday is, as they say, gravy.
The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating or drinking, but of justice, peace, and the joy that is given by the Holy Spirit. Whoever serves Christ in this way pleases God and wins the esteem of men. Let us, then, make it our aim to work for peace and to strengthen one another. ~Romans 14:17-19
I give my humble thanks to God:
- For the gift of life and faith given to me by my parents in cooperation with our Lord who gave His life to save me from my sins
- For the gift of eternal life offered through my baptism and renewed through frequent sacraments, especially Holy Communion and confession; for the Holy Catholic Church
- For the gift of our marriage, and my husband's infant baptism on the same day as my own
- For our children Zachary, Joseph, and Peter; for our other pregnancies and miscarriages
- For our parents, grandparents, siblings, families, Godparents, priests, and the Church Triumphant ~ the saints in heaven
- For our Godchildren, foster children, spiritual children and their families
- For our friends, prayer warriors, benefactors, students, teachers, readers, employees, contacts, Scouting and home schooling families,
- For the Fraternal Society of Saint Peter (FSSP), Benedictines, Carmelites, Passionists, Dominicans, for our Seattle Archdiocese, and our parishes
- For our health, home and daily sustenance
- For our freedom and for those who defend true freedom and the right to life for every human being
- For Truth
I offer thanksgiving to Almighty God for the many and varied resources so readily available to build up my faith and deepen my knowledge of the Truth:
The Holy Bible
Divine Intimacy
Divine Office
Church Militant TV
Father Z's blog
Audio Sancto Sermon Series
The Holy See
Spiritual Food for Thought
Father Broom's podcasts
Father Jim Northrop's podcasts
Father Lappe's homilies
Father Hollowell's blog
Father MacRae's blog
The Radical Life
Divine Mercy: Saint Faustina's Diary
And lest I forget, there is one last thing to be especially thankful for on this day:
Pies!
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