A blessed and joyful Thanksgiving to all of our readers! Even our American ones who, of course, hold their own day of thanks later in November, but who do honour Christopher Columbus on this day; or they used to, for that, like so much else, is now resonant with its own controversial cultural overtones. We have held this holiday in Canada since 1879, with Governor-General Vincent Massey proclaiming the second Monday of October the official day in 1957.
For now, enjoy this holiday, and make it truly a holy-day, to offer our gratitude to the good God for all His benefits, and to stand in solidarity with those who seem, in earthly terms, to have far less for which to give thanks. On that note, reflect upon this essay by Father James Schall, and what a ‘moral act’ really means, in light of all that is transpiring. As Chesterton once wrote, each day is a gift beyond measure, and we should not presume we deserve another. Not only should everyday be a day of ‘thanksgiving’, but every moment:
You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink
On this day, we remind ourselves of that in a particular way. After all, we approach out time here in one of two ways:
When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude
Each moment, we should offer to our Creator all that He has give us.
All things work to the good for those who love God, so hope and trust, for, as Bd. Julian of Norwich said, all manner of things will be well in the end.
Deo gratias! +
