There's always something so special about Thanksgiving Day, an occasion that combines a sense of being part of the United States with the divine and the spiritual, truly making it an American Holy Day.
It's a great occasion for us to remember who we are in relationship with God, the One Who created us and has blessed us in so many ways. Even reading over President Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation, which established this holiday as an annual celebration, I can't help but be struck by how many wonderful blessings the people of the United States could count, in the wealth of their lands, their commercial activities, and even their relationships with other countries. Such a litany shines brightly in the midst of the trying times of war between North and South. It's definitely clear that times of crisis are a good opportunity to remember why we are blessed.
Yet it's not enough just to behold and bask in our blessings. Thanksgiving is truly something that compels us to action. At the annual Oak Park-River Forest Community of Congregations Interfaith Thanksgiving Prayer Service, a local rabbi talked about a Jewish teaching that says gratitude must spur us on to grow in virtues, by which we serve and love others. Even as we gave thanks for the sense of community we share with other people of faith, we were spurred on to uphold those values for the making of a better world, especially through the passionate preaching of Pastor Ira Acree of Greater St. John Bible Church.
Even Jesus says, "Those to whom much is given, much is required", in Luke 12:48 NIV, a statement echoed by President Kennedy. As we take the opportunity to remember our blessings on this occasion, we renew ourselves in the work of making those blessings extend as we reach out to others.
Going to Mass is one important part of celebrating Thanksgiving Day for me, because by going to the table of the Eucharist, I give thanks to God for His gifts to me, and in partaking of Him, I am transformed to live for Him, with Him inside me, that I may be a blessing in the world. I couldn't hep but think how fitting it is that Thanksgiving Day is on a Thursday, the same day of Holy Week when we celebrate Christ's institution of the Eucharist. Week after week when I go to the Eucharist, I continue to be called to that transformation so that I may live a lifestyle steeped in gratitude that compels me to offer myself up in love to Him and others, in the model He has given us.
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