O Lord, that lends me life, Lend me a heart replete with Thankfulness!”
              (Shakespeare, King Henry VI)
Thanksgiving 2001...It’s here! No mater our circumstances, each of us has so much for which to thank God this holiday...not the least of which is life itself...and love...and laughter...and the faith that Jesus Christ, the Father’s Own...will make the best of all of it worth celebrating forever. Come join us for Eucharist (the word itself means “Thanksgiving”) this holiday. We owe God this much.

Next Sunday, Feast of Christ the King, we once again make history in our parish. We begin the 7-24 adoration of Jesus in the Eucharist. There are over 300 people committed thus far to spending at least one of those 168 hours a week before the Tabernacle. I cannot begin to tell you of the abundant graces God will pour out upon us for this effort. Among these graces will be vocations to the priesthood and religious life, miracles of healing, prosperity for our faith community, and more, much more. All we need do is stick to our commitment….God will do the rest.

A churchgoer wrote a letter to the editor of the newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. “I’ve gone for 30 years now,” he wrote, “and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can’t remember a single one of them. So, I think I’m wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all.”

This started a real controversy in the “Letters to the Editor” column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:
 “I’ve been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this: They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!”

What Love Is (according to 4 - 8 year olds)
? “When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis, too. That’s love.” Rebecca, age 8
? “When someone loves you the way they say your name is
        different. Your name is safe in their mouth.” Billy, age 4
? “Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.” Karl, age 5
? “Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries and not make them give you any of theirs.” Chrissy, age 6
? “Love is what makes you smile when you are tired.” Terri, age 4

“The worst moment for the atheist is when he is really thankful and has nobody to thank.”
                          (Dante Gabriel Rossetti)

“In seeking happiness for others, you find it for yourself.”

“The secret of crossing the river from griping to gratitude is much needed today. Many people not only stay on the negative side of the river, but pass their negative attitude on to others; murmuring about this or that and dragging others into the muck and mire with them.

“Griping is a communicable disease, affecting churches, whole communities, and nations. To turn from griping to gratitude requires the discovery of a secret. It is an open secret frequently found in the Bible, especially the Psalms. The open secret is: What gets your attention gets you.

“If you give your attention to your sickness, your anger, your resentments, or your problems, then your sickness, anger, resentments and problems will get you. If on the other hand you give your attention to God, God will get you.”
 (Dr. Ron Lavin, Turning Griping Into Gratitude)

On a Thanksgiving weekend, a pastor found himself in a long line of cars at a gas station. He waited 25 minutes to get to a pump. The attendant, who knew the Pastor, apologized: “Pastor, I’m sorry for the long wait, but it seems people tend to wait till the last minute to get ready before taking a long trip.” “I know just what you mean,” the pastor replied. “It’s the same in my business.”

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