This Thanksgiving, can we give a gift of thanks?
Mother Teresa told the following story in an address to the 1994 National Prayer Breakfast:
One evening, several of our Sisters went out, and we picked up four people from the street. One of them was in a most terrible condition. So, I told the other Sisters, You take care of the other three: I will take care of this one who looks the worst. So, I did for the woman everything that my love could do. I cleaned her and put her in bed, and there was such a beautiful smile on her face. She took hold of my hands and said two words in her language, Bengali: “Thank you.” Then she died.
I could not help but examine my conscience. I asked myself, What would say if I were in her place? My answer was simple. I would have tried to get a little attention to myself. I would have said, I am hungry; I am dying; I am in pain. But the woman gave me much more; she gave me grateful love, dying with a grateful smile on her face. It means that even those with nothing can give us the gift of thanks.
King David of Israel tells us to “Enter [God’s] gates with thanksgiving, his courts with praise; Give thanks to him; bless his name” for He is good. "[His] kindness endures forever and His faithfulness, to all generations.”
The Virgin Mary expresses gratitude for being chosen to be the mother of Jesus. A woman thanks Jesus for forgiving her sins by pouring perfume on his feet. One of the ten lepers healed by Jesus returns to thank him.
When King Jehoshaphat was afraid that an enemy army would defeat his, he told the people of Judah to “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.” When they obeyed, God helped them win the battle.
A barren woman Hannah thanked God for giving her a son by giving the boy back to God. When Daniel knew he was in danger of being thrown into the lion's den, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did regularly.
Jesus, himself, is noted several times in the gospel thanking his Father: before feeding the 5,000, before raising Lazarus from the dead, and before sharing the Passover bread and wine at the first Eucharistic celebration.
The Apostle Paul tells the early Christians to give thanks to God for all things in all circumstances and to submit themselves one to another.
With these servants of God in mind, what can we thank God for on Thanksgiving Day this year, and how can we show our gratitude to Him and to others?
As we celebrate Thanksgiving this year, we should do everything possible that our love can do for our family members and others.
Be a blessing to each other.
Prayer of Thanksgiving:
Father, thank you for helping my family and me to keep praying, talking, and working together as a family. Help us to envelope our shortcomings with your compassionate love and care.
Bless our family on this thanksgiving. Amen.
.jpg "Father Pinto Paul, C.S.C.")