Thanksgiving
By Mike Lambrecht
It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is nearly upon us. It’s a time of year that many of us will spend with our extended family. Sometimes we get to travel while listening to the children in the back asking, repeatedly, “are we there yet?” If your family is anything like mine, this Thursday you will get to gather around a table set with mounds of delicious turkey, potatoes, stuffing, and corn. It is the expectation of your host that you will eat until you are overfull.
While not technically a religious holiday, it is good to take a moment to reflect upon all that we are thankful for. The Lord gives us so much that we often overlook—our families, our friends, our health, the food on our table, a place to live, our clothes, (and all of our material possessions for that matter), are all gifts from God. Hopefully, all of these things bring happiness into our lives.
However, there is even a greater gift that God has given us that we often take for granted; Namely, the gift of God Himself, in the person of Jesus, coming down from heaven, humbly taking on our flesh, and choosing to suffer and die to pay the price for our sins. These are the very events that we celebrate each and every time that we attend Mass. Without this gift of Himself, we would have no hope of eternal life and life on earth would be hollow indeed.
Why am I telling you all this? I can assure you that I am not trying to depress you. After all, Thanksgiving is supposed to be a joyful time of year. The reason I am telling you this, as you may or may not already know, is because the word Eucharist translates as “thanksgiving.” The Catechism puts it this way, “The Eucharist is a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Father, a blessing by which the Church expresses her gratitude to God for all his benefits, for all that he has accomplished through creation, redemption, and sanctification. Eucharist means first of all ‘thanksgiving.’”1
With this in mind I would encourage you to consider attending Mass with your family this Thanksgiving.2 Although it is not required, I believe that there is no better way to say “thank you” to our Lord and God for all that he has done for us than to show up at Mass on Thursday and to give Him an hour of our life. By taking time out of our busy day to receive the Eucharist, we can show that we are not taking the sacrifice of Christ for granted.
I know that this is not easy. Many of us are trying to balance schedules that have us packing bags, rounding up children, driving what seems like halfway across the United States, and so forth. If you are unable to attend Mass on Thanksgiving, then I would recommend doing something to set this day apart. Perhaps you could spend 30 minutes reading the Bible. Alternatively, you could say a rosary in thanksgiving for all of the gifts that you have received in your life. Whatever else you do this Thanksgiving, please spend some time giving adoration and thanks to our heavenly father.
I wish you and your family a very happy, safe, and joyful Thanksgiving!
1 CCC 1360
2 Saint Therese Parish is offering a Mass at 8:00 AM on Thanksgiving day. For those who are traveling, I recommend that you check the site: www.masstimes.org for the time and location of Masses near you.