Thanksgiving Day (in the United States)
Sir 50: 22-24
And now bless the God of all,
who everywhere works great wonders,
who fosters our growth from birth,
and deals with us according to his mercy.
May he give us gladness of heart,
and may there be peace in our days
in Israel, as in the days of old.
May he entrust to us his mercy,
and may he deliver us in our days!
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
What Can You Give Away?
Thanksgiving means three things in my house: the parade, a big meal, and the beginning of Christmas movies. In one of these movies, It’s a Wonderful Life, George Bailey’s father says “All you can take with you is that which you have given away.” This is a lesson we all know in our hearts, but the season between Thanksgiving and Christmas can feel conflicting: we are hopeful and yet tired, we are mindful of peace and yet busy, we are joyful and yet stressed, we are loving and yet annoyed by traffic and long lines. If the only thing we have when we leave this earth is what we have given away, then our focus needs to be on sharing what really matters.
Let’s consider how we can give hope, peace, joy and love away each day during this Advent season, remembering that it is in giving that we receive.
—Kay Gregg is the Assistant Department Chair for Campus Ministry at Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Illinois.
Prayer
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.
—Peace Prayer of St. Francis