Thanksgiving Day

“I give thanks to my God always on your account for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus.” I Cor: 1:2

The great mystic, Meister Eckhart, once wrote that “If the only prayer you ever pray is ‘Thank You,’ it is enough.”

Developing an “attitude of gratitude” is the consequence of the life of the Spirit. The new eyes we develop through a life of prayer and generosity gives us the insight to see that everything that really counts in our life is gift.

The gospel for today’s liturgy tells the story of the ten persons with leprosy who were cleansed through the generosity of Jesus. But, only one “fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.” Jesus sees that act of gratitude as the very essence of faith – the kind of faith that saves us, that frees us to live a life in union with God.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who receive my “reflections” for the graciousness so many of you have expressed. My only hope is to share the meaning of the gospels of Jesus in a way that can make some kind of difference in each of our lives. If it does, please know how your faith deepens my own.

The essence, the core, the animating force of Christianity is the possibility of conversion. It’s the hope that we can become a more real version of ourselves – people dedicated to the radical change of heart that Jesus calls us to.

Gratitude is our best expression of that conversion.

A.A. Milne perhaps said it best when he wrote: “Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of gratitude.”

On this Thanksgiving Day, my prayer is that each of you will experience that same “large amount of gratitude” for all the many blessings you and your family have  received. And may that same gratitude, in the words of Maya Angelou, be the “pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer.”

Happy Thanksgiving!   Ted Wolgamot