Daily Thought: If you use the readings for the Mass of
Thanksgiving Day in the Gospel you hear the story of the ten lepers (Luke
17:11-19) once again. We had the same story about two weeks ago. It is a rich
and challenging story especially as we come together across our nation to
celebrate this special day in our history.
The story of the one returning person who had been cured
reminds us that in the midst of the busyness of life we have got to pause and be
thankful. Life is not always about "me!" It is about being grateful,
being thankful and going to the Source of our Life with that gratitude! Shopping
can wait, partying can wait – God, prayer, family and friends are in need of
our attention! It is a matter of faith and that can make all the difference.
St. Paul in his First Letter to the Corinthians says –
"I give thanks to my God always on your account for the grace, [the gifts]
of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus…." As we journey through life on
this Thanksgiving Day let us be aware of God's grace and God’s many gifts and
then think first about who makes this grace and these gifts possible and not
just about ourselves and then be grateful even when it might be difficult.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! May your day and all who you
will gather with to celebrate be blessed!
Daily Prayer: Loving God of all thankfulness, your gifts of
love and goodness are infinite, help us to pause this day and every day with
gratitude for your kindness, mercy and love. Open our hearts to have concern
for every person so that all may share your gifts. Finally help us to always
recognize your gifts and return to give thanks! Amen!
A Runner's Thoughts: If you run today run with a mindfulness
and a thoughtfulness of gratitude for the gift of running and all the gifts you
encounter on a run. If you do not run today be sure to take time to give
thanks!
Daily Blessing: Thanksgiving greetings and blessings to
everyone! A special shout out to my niece Sarah who celebrates her birthday
today! Happy Birthday, Sarah and many more! Ah, to be young again!
It looks to be a beautiful day here in Fairfax and I hope
the weather by you is making your day a beautiful one too! I pray that you are
where you want to be or are in the process of getting there safely!
I am going to take my prayer of blessing today from one that
I offered you a few days ago.
This Thanksgiving Day I pray that you will always find the
blessing of thankfulness in your life. – God of all blessings, source of all
life, giver of all grace. We thank you for the gift of life: for the breath
that sustains life, for the food of this earth that nurtures life, for the love
of family and friends without which there would be no life.
We thank you for the mystery of creation: for the beauty
that the eye can see, for the joy that the ear may hear, for the unknown that
we cannot behold filling the universe with wonder, for the expanse of space
that draws us beyond the definitions of our selves.
We thank you for setting us in communities: for families who
nurture our becoming, for friends who love us by choice, for companions at
work, who share our burdens and daily tasks, for strangers who welcome us into
their midst, for people from other lands who call us to grow in understanding, for
children who lighten our moments with delight, for the unborn, who offer us
hope for the future.
We thank you for this day: for life and one more day to
love, for opportunity and one more day to work for justice and peace, for
neighbors and one more person to love and by whom be loved, for your grace and
one more experience of your presence, for your promise: to be with us, to be
our God, and to give salvation.
For these and all blessings, we give you thanks, eternal,
loving God, through Jesus Christ we pray. Amen. May the blessing of
thankfulness be with you as you journey through this Thanksgiving Day and
always!
I pray that today will be filled with family, friends, food
and thankfulness! Be safe today if you are traveling. Pray for peace in our
families, our cities, our nations, our World and in ourselves. Peace in
Christ's Passion...Fr. Paul
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