Greetings in Christ, all!
As many of you know by now, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday… the food, the cookies, the family gatherings, the cookies… and the time to focus on gratitude. As a priest of 23 years, I have come to believe that gratitude is one of the most important and neglected elements of the Christian life. As lovers of Jesus, we should be a grateful people, our minds filled with awareness for the blessedness in and around us.
In my daily life, I make every effort to be specifically grateful for what God has given me, including his gifts of humility, prayer, and joy and also his worldly gifts of this parish and all you who are a part of this parish. I love praying with you all, learning with you, suffering with you and rejoicing with you.
I am so very, terribly grateful to God for all of you: my tribe. From my first day here, you welcomed me and I felt so very loved. Every day I thank the Lord that He let me come here and serve you…you give so generously of your time and your gifts; you are so very encouraging…I don’t have the words to thank you.
I also want to sincerely thank you for loving my dad and letting me take care of him. I know that it shaves into my time with you, but I have heard very few complaints about it and I am so grateful. I can’t tell you how many people have commented to me about being welcomed and accepted when they came to Mass here and what a difference that made for them.
For my part, I thank the Lord for the beautiful staffs I work with at both parishes and the school. I am amazed at the dedication, wisdom and sacrifice of our employees and I thank the Lord for them. I am grateful for their patience with me as I learn how to serve within my abilities.
I thank the Lord for you all and hope you had a blessed and joyful Thanksgiving!
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