Missionaries of the Sacred

In all circumstances, give thanks,
for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.
(I Thessalonians 5:18)

The dawn of the Thanksgiving Holiday is once again upon us. It is a time to reflect on our sense of gratitude to God for all the good and wonderful things and experiences God freely bestows on us through His loving and compassionate Heart. But the spirit of thanksgiving must not come about only at this time of the year. God summons us to live a life of gratitude in our daily living. Indeed, “Every event and need can be an offering of thanksgiving.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2638)

In the story of the “Ten Lepers,” we see that only one, a Samaritan returned to Christ, “glorifying God in a loud voice and fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.” (Luke 17:16) Perhaps the other nine lepers gave thanks later, but the tenth gives us an example to be thankful and grateful to God at the very moment we are aware of His grace and generosity. The more we have the same gift of gratitude as  the tenth leper, the more we are able to appreciate and recognize God working in our lives and the lives of others.

This Thanksgiving, my prayers and hope is that you all have a grace-full and happy Thanksgiving,  and that the gift of gratitude will remain with you always. For everything created by God is good and nothing is to be rejected when received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the invocation of God in prayer. (I Timothy 4:4)