A THANKSGIVING REFLECTION

MAKE EVERY DAY A DAY OF THANKSGIVING

All powerful and ever-living God, we do well always

and everywhere to give you thanks.

Mass Preface

If I am not mistaken, Thanksgiving Day as a national holiday has gained in popularity since I was a child. It is now a "big deal" with many more families, these days!  That, I believe, in the words of Martha Stewart, is a "good thing!" Sadly, though, Catholics have celebrated a "day of thanksgiving" every Sunday over that same period of time,  but it on the other hand is losing in popularity.  We call our weekly "day of thanksgiving" by its Greek name Eucharist, meaning thanksgiving. Just as our national holiday "brings our blood family together" in gratitude, our Eucharist brings our faith family together in gratitude.

Whether it is once a year or once a week, I don't believe that either is enough. I believe that our lives could be enriched deeply if gratitude would be practiced as a spiritual discipline every hour of every day. - "always and everywhere" as the prefaces at Mass put it.

Henry Ward Beecher, an old favorite, put it this way. "Let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds iron, so it will find in every hour, some heavenly blessings." This is the idea behind this whole reflection - running my spiritual metal detector over the world in front of me every day in search of someone to encourage and something for which to be thankful!

This idea of going through the day "panning for blessings" pays off. Ezra Taft Benson said it this way. "The more we express our gratitude to God for our blessings, the more he will bring to our minds other blessings. The more we are aware of to be grateful for, the happier we become. "

Not only do we become more happy when we cultivate gratitude within our own hearts, it also make us holy. William Law made this point. "Would you know who is the greatest saint in the world: it is not he who prays most or fasts most. It is not he who gives the most alms or is most eminent for temperance, chastity or justice; but it is he who is always thankful to God, who wills everything that God wills, who receives everything as an instance of God's goodness and has a heart always ready to praise God for it."

The ability to be grateful and express thanks is something that must be taught to us, and practiced, as children. When it isn't, we run the possibility of growing up believing that we are entitled to all that we have and more.  Sir John Templeton captured this insight better than I can when he wrote: "How wonderful it would be if we could help our children and grandchildren to learn thanksgiving at an early age. Thanksgiving opens doors. It changes a child's personality. A child is either resentful and negative or thankful. Thankful children want to give, they radiate happiness, they draw people."