Introduction: Today is a day of national thanksgiving in the USA 1) for the blessings and protection God has given us. 2) for our democratic government and prosperity, we enjoy 3) for our freedom of speech and religion, and 4) for the generosity and goodwill of our people.
History: The winter of 1610 at Jamestown,
Virginia, had reduced a group of 409 settlers from England to 60. The survivors
had prayed for help without knowing when or how it might come. When help
arrived in the form of a ship filled with food and supplies from England, a
thanksgiving prayer meeting was held to give thanks to God. President George
Washington issued the first national Thanksgiving Proclamation in
1789. In the midst of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln
established Thanksgiving Day as a formal holiday to express
our thanks to God. On November 26, 1941, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
signed the bill declaring that Thanksgiving should be observed as a legal
holiday on the fourth Thursday of each November.
Biblical examples of thanksgiving: (1) Today’s
Gospel describes how one of the ten lepers Jesus healed, a Samaritan, returned
to Jesus to express his gratitude while the nine Jewish lepers did not return
to thank the healer. Jesus asks the pained question: “Where are the other
nine? The episode tells us that God, too, expects gratitude from us. (2) In
2 Kings 5:1-9, Naaman, the now-healed leper, chief of the army of the Syrian
king, returned to the prophet Elisha to express his thanks for the healing with
a gift of 10 talents of silver, 6000 pieces of gold and six Egyptian raiments
as gifts. When Elisha refused the gifts, Naaman asked for permission take home
two sacks of the soil of Israel that he might offer worship to the Lord Who had
healed him, and he promised to offer sacrifices only to the God of Israel. (3) Jesus
gave thanks to the Father at the tomb of the just-raised Lazarus, saying, “Thank
you Father for hearing My prayer” (John 11:41-42). (4) St.
Paul advises the Ephesians (and us), “Give thanks to God the Father for
everything” (Eph 5:20).
The Eucharistic celebration is the most
important form of thanksgiving prayer for Catholics. In fact, Eucharist is the
Greek word for thanksgiving. In the Holy Mass we offer to our Heavenly Father
as an act of thanksgiving to Him, the sacrificial death and resurrection of
Jesus, made present on our altar. At the same time, we surrender our lives to
Him on the altar with repentant hearts, and we present to Him all our needs,
asking for His blessings.
Life messages: Let us be thankful and let us learn
to express our thanks daily: 1) To God for His innumerable blessings,
providential care and protection and for the unconditional pardon given to us
for our daily sins and failures. 2) To our parents – living and dead – for the
gift of life and Christian training and the good example they have given to us.
3) To our relatives and friends for their loving support, timely help and
encouragement. 4) To our pastors, teachers, doctors, soldiers, police, and
government officers for the sincere service they render us. (Fr. Tony)
THANKSGIVING DAY IN THE U.S.(Nov 25, 2021) Full
text
…..(Sirach 50:22-24; I Cor 1:3-9; Luke 17:11-19)……
Homily starter anecdotes # 1: “Thank
you!” St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) told this story in an
address given at the National Prayer Breakfast in 1994. “One evening, several
of our Sisters went out, and we picked up four people from the street. One of
them was in a most terrible condition. So, I told the other Sisters, “You take
care of the other three: I will take care of this one who looks the worst.” So,
I did for the woman everything that my love could do. I cleaned her and put her
in bed, and there was such a beautiful smile on her face. She took hold of my
hands and said two words in her language, Bengali: “Thank you.” Then she died.
I could not help but examine my conscience. I asked myself, “What would I say
if I were in her place?” My answer was simple. I would have tried to draw a little
attention to myself. I would have said, “I am hungry, I am dying, I am in
pain.” But the woman gave me much more; she gave me grateful love, dying with a
grateful smile on her face. It means that even those with nothing can give us
the gift of thanks.” (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
L/21
# 2: But whose hand? A schoolteacher asked her
first graders to draw a picture of something they were thankful for. She
thought of how little these children from poor neighborhoods actually had to be
thankful for. She reasoned that most of them would no doubt draw pictures of
turkeys on tables with lots of other food. She was surprised with the picture
that Douglas handed in. It was the picture of a human hand, poorly drawn. But
whose hand? The other children tried to guess. One said it was the hand of God
because He brings the food to us. Another said it was the hand of a farmer
because he raises and grows the food. Finally, when the others were back at
their work, the teacher bent over Douglas’ desk and asked whose hand it was.
“Why, it’s your hand, teacher,” he mumbled. Then she recalled that frequently
at recess she had taken Douglas, a scrubby, forlorn child, by the hand. She did
it with many of the children and never thought much about it. But Douglas did.
You see, she refreshed his spirit and he never forgot it. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
L/21
# 3: Two lists: Perhaps Daniel Defoe
gave us some good advice through his fictional character Robinson Crusoe. The
first thing that Crusoe did when he found himself on a deserted island was to
make out a list. On one side of the list he wrote down all his problems. On the
other side of the list he wrote down all of his blessings. On one side he
wrote: I do not have any clothes. On the other side he
wrote: But it’s warm and I don’t really need any. On one side
he wrote: All of the provisions were lost. On the other side
he wrote: But there’s plenty of fresh fruit and water on the island. And
on down the list he went. In this fashion he discovered that for every negative
aspect about his situation, there was a positive aspect, something to be
thankful for. It is easy to find ourselves on an island of despair. Perhaps it
is time for us to sit down and take an inventory of our blessings. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
L/21
Introduction:Thanksgiving is the most uniquely
American of all our holidays. In the midst of the Civil War, President Abraham
Lincoln, established Thanksgiving Day as a formal holiday on which we express
our thanks to God for the many blessings He has provided. The first American
Thanksgiving didn’t occur in 1621 when a group of Pilgrims shared a feast with
a group of friendly Indians. The first recorded public Thanksgiving had taken
place in Virginia more than 11 years earlier, and it wasn’t a feast. The winter
of 1610 at Jamestown had reduced a group of 409 settlers to 60. The survivors
had prayed for help without knowing when or how it might come. When help
arrived in the form of a ship filled with food and supplies from England, a
prayer meeting was held to give communal thanks to God. Thanksgiving is the
favorite holiday of many Americans. It has the simplicity of a family gathering
together for a meal. Why should we be thankful this day? We must learn to be
thankful or we will either become bitter and discouraged or grow arrogant and
self-satisfied.
However, Thanksgiving Day also has a profound religious
meaning, because giving thanks is the very heart of our natural and spiritual
life. For us as Catholics, the central act of worship is called the Eucharist,
a Greek word for Thanksgiving. In the Mass, we give thanks to God
through Jesus, and share a sacred meal in which we acknowledge the fact that
everything we have comes from God. On Thanksgiving Day in many of our rural
parishes, people used to bring items such as fruits and grains which were then
blessed by the pastor before being taken home.
Scripture message: There are basically two types of
people in our world: the grateful and the ungrateful. Today’s Gospel tells the
story of the ten lepers whom Jesus healed. Only one of them, a Samaritan – a
Jew despised and held unclean for being of mixed race, pagan and Jewish –
returned to give Him thanks. The other nine (who were “real” Jews), apparently
considered their healing as something they had a right to, whereas the
Samaritan took it as an undeserved gift from God. This Gospel reminds us that
God, too, desires our thanks. “Where are the other nine?” Jesus asks
with pain. (Confer also Is 1:3-5.) That is why St. Paul admonishes us, “Always
be thankful” (Col 3:17). It is a Christian’s duty, as well as privilege, to
be grateful for the blessings of God (Dt 8:10; Ps 107:19, 21; Col 1:12-14; Phil
1:3). “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever”
(1 Chr 16:34). (Refer to Ps 107:1, Jn 11:41, Eph 5:20, and Col 3:17 for
Biblical prayers and expressions of thanksgiving.)
Gathered around the altar celebrating the Eucharist, we find
that our expression of thanks becomes part of the great Thanksgiving Prayer of
Christ, which unites the mighty chorus of all God’s people. We should give
thanks for this parish community in which we gather together. It is in this
community that we meet Christ in the Breaking of the Bread and receive the
Sacraments that nourish and strengthen us along the way. Hence, “let us give
thanks to the Lord our God. For it is right to give God thanks and praise!”
Life messages:1) Let us be thankful to God. Let us
thank God for giving us the gifts of life and health, for providing for our
spiritual and physical needs, for giving us our families and friends, and for
offering us the grace of salvation through Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
2) Let us be thankful to our parents, friends and
benefactors. Honoring one’s parents is the most basic level of gratitude, and
that is why we have the fourth commandment: “Honor your father and mother.”
Let us also be thankful for the countless good people in our lives, each of
whom has brought his or her own special gifts to us and has touched our lives.
Today, let us remember each one prayerfully, with reverence and gratitude.
1) Do we practice unconditional gratitude? Are we
thankful only when we compare our lives with those of others?
Are we thankful only when we compare our standard of living
with that of people in very poor countries; or only when we
compare our relatively good health to the health of a terminally-ill cancer
patient? Let us remember the Irish proverb: “Once I complained I had no
shoes –until I saw a man who had no feet.”
Jokes of the week
1) The turkey with a high fever! When I think of “Turkey
Day,” I am reminded of the story of the little boy who saw his mother putting a
thermometer in the turkey. He said, “If it is that sick, I don’t want any!”
2) “Christopher hit me!”: It was Thanksgiving Day. Breakfast
was over and the kids were playing in a room full of toys. Their parents
lingered over a second cup of coffee. In a short while, the parents heard the
sound of a brief scuffle. Then Mary, their three-year-old, burst into the
kitchen in tears. “Mommy! Daddy! Christopher hit me!” she sobbed. Before either
of them could think of a reply, the calm voice of their nine-year-old daughter
came from the play room, “It’s Thanksgiving Day–we must be thankful. Thank God,
he didn’t bite you!!”
3) “Where are the rotten ones for the pigs?” There was once
a lady who complained about everything and everybody. Finally, her pastor found
something that she couldn’t complain about. The lady’s crop of potatoes was the
finest for miles around. He said to her, “For once you must be pleased.
Everyone is saying how splendid your potatoes are this year.” The lady glared
at him and said, “They are not so bad, but where are the rotten ones for the
pigs?”
4) “I can chew my food:” It was Thanksgiving season in the
nursing home. The small resident population had been gathered around their
humble Thanksgiving table, and the director asked each in turn to express one
thing for which he or she was thankful. Thanks were expressed for a home in
which to stay, families, etc. One little old lady, when her turn came, said, “I
thank the Lord for two perfectly good teeth left in my mouth, one in my upper
jaw and one in my lower jaw. They match so well that I can chew my food.”
SIMPLE THINGS TO BE THANKFUL FOR.
“I am thankful for the mess to clean up after a party
because it means I am blessed with friends.
I am thankful for the taxes I pay because it means that I am
employed.
I am thankful for the clothes that fit a little too snugly because
it means I have had enough to eat.
I am thankful for my shadow that watches me work because it
means I am out in the sunshine.
I am thankful for a lawn that needs mowing, windows that
need cleaning, gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home.
I am thankful for all the complaining I do about the
government because it means we have freedom of speech.
I am thankful for the spot I find at the far end of the
parking lot because it means I am capable of walking.
I am thankful for my big heating bill because it means I am
warm.
I am thankful for the lady behind me in Church who sings
off-key because it means I can hear.
I am thankful for the piles of laundry and ironing because
it means my loved ones are nearby.
I am thankful for weariness and aching muscles at the end of
the day because it means I have been productive.
I am thankful for the alarm that goes off early in the
morning because it means I am alive.”
Let me share my little secret. When I feel that
the world is caving in and my tears of hopelessness are just about to fall, I
look down at my hands. I stretch my fingers and I start to count … my
blessings. I say to myself, “I have 10 fingers … 1-2-3-4-5 … I can move all of
them. My skin is clear. I can see. I can hear. I can talk. I can walk. I have a
family. I have a home. I have friends. I have a job. Not everyone has these. I
am a very lucky person. I am whole and I can cope with this minor setback.” Try
it. In your darkest hour, at the height of a most unfortunate situation, count
your blessings by starting with your fingers. —Ruby Bayan-Gagelonia
Gratitude
Today, upon a bus, I saw a very handsome man,
And wished I were as beautiful.
When suddenly he rose to leave,
I saw him hobble down the aisle.
He had one leg and wore a crutch.
But as he passed, he passed a smile.
Oh, God, forgive me when I whine.
I have two legs; the world is mine.
I stopped to buy some candy,
The lad who sold it had such charm,
I talked with him, he seemed so glad,
If I were late, it’d do no harm.
And as I left, he said to me,
“I thank you, you’ve been so kind.
It’s nice to talk with folks like you.
You see,” he said, “I’m blind.”
Oh, God, forgive me when I whine.
I have two eyes; the world is mine.
Later while walking down the street,
I saw a child I knew.
He stood and watched the others play,
but he did not know what to do.
I stopped a moment and then I said,
“Why don’t you join them dear?”
He looked ahead without a word,
I forgot, he couldn’t hear.
Oh, God, forgive me when I whine,
I have two ears; the world is mine.
With feet to take me where I’d go,
With eyes to see the sunset’s glow,
With ears to hear what I’d know.
With loving family friends to enjoy life
Oh, God, forgive me when I whine,
I’ve been blessed indeed, the world is mine.
Thanksgiving Day Prayers
- Oh,
Heavenly Father,
We thank Thee for food and remember the hungry.
We thank Thee for health and remember the sick.
We thank Thee for friends and remember the friendless.
We thank Thee for freedom and remember the enslaved.
May these remembrances stir us to service,
That Thy gifts to us may be used for others.
Amen
2) We thank and praise You, our Heavenly Father,
for establishing and preserving our nation in freedom, for giving us a rich
land in which to dwell, and for providing us with an abundance of the fruits of
the earth. In order that we might live in peace and be good stewards of all
that You provide, grant us Your grace to recognize Your gifts and to live as
good citizens. Give us grace to offer You ourselves as living sacrifices to the
glory of Your holy Name and the betterment of mankind. Of all Your many
blessings, chief among them is the peace we have with You on account of the
precious Blood of Jesus Christ shed for us for the full remission of all our
sins. We thank You for Your great love in sending Your Son to be our Savior, in
calling us out of our rebellion and into fellowship with Him. We give You
thanks that You have done this apart from any worthiness in us.
Forgive us for those times when we grow complacent in Your
love, not living out our baptismal identity but instead taking Your gifts for
granted. As the great day of Christ’s return draws ever closer, teach us each
day to cling to You, that we may on the Last Day stand eternally before Your
throne, giving You our unending thanks and praise; through Jesus Christ, Your
Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now
and forever. Amen.
3) Intercessory Prayers for Thanksgiving Day Holy Mass
Response: Lord, hear our prayer.
C: Let us give thanks for the Doctors, Nurses,
Paramedics and EMS who have so unselfishly cared for the
sick.
May God bless their abilities. We pray to the Lord.
C: We give thanks for the researchers who have tirelessly
searched for vaccines to protect us.
May God bless their tenacity. We pray to the Lord.
C: We thank our family members, who have kept in touch with
us
by phone, email, texting, and even in person.
May God bless their loving concern for us. We pray to the
Lord.
C: We offer thanks for the First Responders, who have fought
fires,
rescued people in the midst of hurricanes,
and in the aftermath of tornadoes and severe flooding.
May God bless their selflessness, and their skills. We pray
to the Lord.
C We continue to thank our Priests, and other ministers,
who have reached out to their congregations, kept in touch
with them,
and offer their daily Masses for our spiritual well-being.
May God bless their Faith. We pray to the Lord
C: For the tender love You show Your whole creation. We give
You thanks and pray to the Lord.
C: For the food we eat, the clothes we wear, and the homes
in which we live. We give You thanks and pray to the Lord.
C:For our families, for husbands and wives, and especially
children with their joy and their trust, for grandparents and grandchildren,
for aunts and uncles. We give You thanks and pray to the Lord.
C: For the fields and their harvest, for farmers and their
labors, for the good earth and all its bounty. We give You thanks and pray to
the Lord.
C: For our nation and all its people, and for the freedoms
we enjoy, especially for the freedom to worship You in peace. We give You
thanks and pray to the Lord.
C: For the sufferings that come upon us and for the reminder
they bring of the one thing needful. We give You thanks and pray to the Lord.
C: Above all for the Incarnation of our Lord, for His
suffering and death, for His glorious Resurrection and Ascension and for the
coming of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter. We give You thanks and pray to the
Lord.
C: For the holy Church, for the divine waters of Baptism,
for the comfort of Holy Absolution, and for the life-giving Sacrament of the
Altar. We give You thanks and pray to the Lord.
C: For the Sacred Scriptures, for the holy Law that
shows us our sin, and for the Holy Gospel that reveals the righteousness of
Christ as Your gift to us. We give You thanks and pray to the Lord.
C: For these and all Your mercies, mercies beyond number and
measure, for all of which it is our joy to stand before You and give You
thanks. We give You thanks and pray to the Lord.
Priest: You are indeed blessed and holy and worthy of all honor and praise, O Father Almighty, O only begotten Son, O Spirit of Holiness. To You alone do we give all glory now and ever and unto the ages of ages! Amen
