Greetings in Christ!
This week we celebrate the secular holiday of Thanksgiving. It’s my absolute favorite holiday.
This is a great chance for us to focus on Gratitude. It’s an amazing thing how powerful and yet underrated gratitude is. Gratitude refocuses us; it heals our wounds and lifts our spirits.
Scripture is pretty clear on the importance of gratitude. I think it is Psalm 50 where the Lord tells us that if we want healing and closeness to God, we need to make a “sacrifice of thanksgiving.” If we base our gratitude on how we feel, we will always struggle. Instead, we must decide to be grateful. We must choose to pause, look at our lives and thank God for the innumerable blessings we take for granted.
Today, I thank God for our country. My heart is broken so very deeply about the passage of Proposal 3, but at the same time, I simply must thank God that I live in a country where each person has the right to make their voice heard and vote their conscience. Freedom is a gift we should never take for granted.
I’m so grateful for you all. I hope you know that everyday, I thank God that He let me come here and serve. I am touched at the prayerfulness of this community, the generosity and even the spirit that compels you to invite friends to come and pray with us. I’m not sure if you are aware of how rare it is that a parish in our diocese grows, but because of your positive talk and faith, more people come here and pray with us each week, it seems. I’m grateful for you.
I’m grateful for my family, especially for my Dad living with me. I’ve lately struggled a lot emotionally with all the obligations, wants and needs involved with serving two parish families, but he always lifts me up and calms me down. I’m just so grateful.
I’m grateful for our wonderful school and parish staff. They could be in secular jobs making more money while being asked to do less, but they chose to throw their gifts and talents at the service of God and I am so terribly grateful.
I’m grateful for Fr. Le. I’ve lived with many priests, but never a kinder, more prayerful and loving man than him. I’m so grateful that he would leave his family, his country and the comfort of familiarity to come here and help us in the US which needs priests so desperately.
I have lots more to be thankful for, but not enough room so I’ll stop now.
Thank you for being my family.
Fjk