Together on the Journey: A Weekly Word from Archbishop Hebda
The Thanksgiving holiday is one of the true gems of our American culture: a time for us as a nation and individually to acknowledge all for which we are thankful and the many blessings that our gracious God has given us.
Our nation’s inaugural president, George Washington, was the first to designate a day for giving thanks—November 26, 1789, rightly noting that “it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor.” An annual celebration, however, wasn’t mandated until October 3, 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation designating “the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving.” How remarkable that the president would have found it appropriate to recall in this way our nation’s gratitude to God just as the nation was facing a civil war and the greatest threat to its future. His instincts were spot on—we have to give thanks even in the midst of our challenges.
This type of gratitude has always been recognized as being essential to Christian joy. Our patron, St. Paul, in fact, encouraged the Thessalonians to “give thanks in all circumstances.” This is particularly important in prayer, as St. Ignatius of Loyola acknowledges in his spiritual exercises. The practice of gratitude, in fact, becomes one of the hallmarks of Ignatian spirituality, following St. Ignatius’s lead to pause and identify where we have experienced God’s grace in the joys and sorrows of our daily lives.
I always use Thanksgiving as an opportunity to take stock of my blessings. Over the years, they have been wonderful occasions for recognizing God’s presence in my life and remembering that He has always had His loving reasons for uprooting and replanting me, according to His plans.
Thanksgiving 1977 was the first that I didn’t spend with my family. It was my freshman year in college and my family couldn’t afford the costs of a flight home so close to Christmas. It proved to be a great opportunity for bonding with the handful of students who remained in my dorm. We ventured by bus to Plymouth Rock (a longer trip than I had imagined) and ate lots of Chinese food. To avoid melancholy that weekend, I remember multiple visits to the local church and spending an unreasonable amount of time in the university library’s audio lab, listening repeatedly to “All Good Gifts” from Godspell, a piece that was always played every Thanksgiving in my home parish in Pittsburgh. Oh, for the days of vinyl.
It was great preparation for the eighteen Thanksgivings that I would later spend in Rome. While Thanksgiving was just an ordinary business day in the Eternal City (and a workday at the Vatican), it became the favorite day of my year—it was always a great opportunity for prayer and for adventure. (My classmates and colleagues did their best with limited ingredients to create passable pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce.)
This year, I’m particularly grateful for the graces of the Eucharistic Revival, for the privilege of serving in this Archdiocese, and for the many signs that through you the Lord is indeed renewing His Church. Please be assured of my prayers.
I’ll be praying in particular that the Lord won’t allow our gratitude to dissipate once the turkey is divided up for leftovers. A wise spiritual director once reminded me that “while Thanksgiving is but a day, gratitude needs to be an attitude.” Everything that we have in this world, and each day we have on this earth, is truly a gift from God. The good and the bad, the blessings and challenges, are all opportunities God has given for us to grow closer to Him so that we might one day live forever with Him in heaven. Please join me in praying that this Thanksgiving will remind us to seek to more fully incorporate gratitude into our prayer and into our everyday lives.
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