As has become my custom a few years ago, I got myself in the spirit of Thanksgiving Day by attending a Multifaith Thanksgiving Prayer Service, sponsored by the OPRF Community of Congregations, on the Sunday before Thanksgiving Day. This year's service, held on Sunday, November 18, was at St. Catherine of Siena-St. Lucy Parish on the edge of Oak Park, across the street from Chicago's Austin neighborhood.
This service was the third time in a month I had gone to St. Catherine of Siena-St. Lucy, having been there previously for memorial Masses in honor of my late Great Aunt June. It has been special going to this church to remember her life and her significant involvement in the parish.
Toward the beginning of the prayer service, a Jewish cantor sang a prayer of thanks to God, and there are words that give thanks to God for putting us in this moment of time.
That insight struck me: We have all been put into this time, in our places, with all our relationships, surrounded by all we have and all our circumstances, ordained specifically by God.
And when we really stop to ponder it, we have so much to give thanks for to the point of being overwhelmed. Reading over Presidential proclamations for Thanksgiving Day, I notice the language talks about all the blessings we have in this country. Indeed, we stand before a good and gracious God, and His blessings are a reflection of Who He is. In the presence of Who He is, we marvel and give thanks for all we have, of which He is the Source. And so we render Him praise all our days, even as it spills forth into loving and serving, demonstrating the faith by which we acclaim His Goodness.
It's always fitting, as a Roman Catholic, to attend Mass on Thanksgiving Day morning, which is part of what we do week after week, recognizing God for Who He is, imploring His mercy, and thanking Him for His blessings, which spurs us on to live out our faith in love for Him and in service to others.
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