Word to the Wise
Thursday, November 23, 2006 - Thanksgiving Day
[Sirach 50:22-24; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Luke 17:11-19]May God grant you joy of heart and may peace abide among you!
Thanksgiving Day is always an emotional time for me. It's a combination of gathering with loved ones and knowing how much God has blessed me that almost overwhelms me. Naturally, a celebration that especially features food is going to interest me as well since I love to cook (and eat!). However, it is the blessing of family and friends and life that brings tears to the eyes. Each morning I go for a walk in which I pray the rosary and remember all the people in my life who sustain me with their love and friendship. I can never stop being thankful for such a blessing. As I write this, a close friend is backpacking her way through Southeast Asia and I pray for her. Another friend is in the first stages of labor and may well give birth to her child on Thanksgiving Day! Still another friend looks forward to the return of his fiancee from school abroad at the end of next month. The events of the lives of friends are the blessing of love and sharing. It is the privilege of this sharing that overwhelms. We are part of one another's lives by God's gracious action. It can be exhilarating and frustrating, but at Thanksgiving can we be anything but grateful to God that we love and are loved by someone? Tomorrow I will go with a close friend from the Kentucky Dominican sisters to spend the day with her family in Louisville. I look forward to the occasion and I pray that all my Beloved Congregation will have a blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving celebration. AMEN