November 24, 2019

To whom do they give thanks?

     This week, our nation celebrates the great holiday of Thanksgiving. For us, as Catholics, we celebrate Eucharist or Thanksgiving every day, and especially every weekend. We give thanks to almighty God for the gift of life, of family, of friendship, and especially the gift of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who suffered, died and rose again that we might have the forgiveness of sins and eternal life!
     It is a lonely holiday for an agnostic or atheist! To whom do they give thanks? For those of us who believe, it is a wonderful day to praise and thank God. It is also an appropriate time to thank one another. Please join me in thanking our wonderful pastoral staff, both religious and lay, who serve us tirelessly every day of the year. We are so blessed to have such faithful, conscientious and generous employees and volunteers in this parish of Holy Spirit.
     There are many wonderful things occurring here, for which we need to be grateful. My prayer for all of you is that, as you and your families gather on this special holiday, you will find in your hearts the great joy of recognizing God’s goodness in your life and this community. Please take the time to stop and recognize your own personal blessings. There is nothing that pleases the giver of a gift more than for the recipient to rejoice in the gift given. Our Lord and God bestows countless blessings upon all of us daily. If we were but conscious of 10% of these blessings, what a difference it would make in our attitude, and perhaps, our relationship with God and one another. For when we recognize God’s blessings in our life, we can’t help but also acknowledge how greatly we are loved.
     May you know the warmth, joy and serenity of God’s infinite love for you and your loved ones, not only this Thanksgiving holiday, but every day of this precious life he had given us!
     A huge thank you to all of you who participated in helping others know that they are loved and cared for this Thanksgiving. We collected food for distribution to the needy, our youth ministry participated by bagging that food, the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Holy Spirit will be delivering Thanksgiving dinners including pies donated by our parishioners.
     As I said earlier, we, as Catholics, celebrate Thanksgiving or Eucharist every day, and in so doing, we also care for the needs of others every day in Christ’s name. The work of recognizing the Lord in one another and loving and serving him in that person is part of our vocation and part of our thanksgiving to God.
     My sincere gratitude to all of you as I count you as part of the many blessings God bestows upon me as pastor of Holy Spirit Parish. Please never doubt my deep appreciation and gratitude for you and your love of Christ and neighbor. 

God love you,