Thanksgiving

We are a people blessed with abundance.  Most of us have sufficient food, plentiful clothes, and warm and safe homes. It is all too easy to take all of the blessings we enjoy for granted.  Thanksgiving bids us pause to stop and take stock of our abundance and to give thanks to the Creator from whom all blessings flow.

In his encyclical, Laudato Si’, Pope Francis urges us to adopt an attitude of attentiveness, an attitude of mindful presence that takes nothing for granted.  One way to maintain this attitude, says the Pope, is to pray both before AND after we eat, not just on Thanksgiving Day, but at each meal:

“One expression of this attitude is when we stop and give thanks to God before and after meals.  I ask all believers to return to this beautiful and meaningful custom.  That moment of blessing, however brief, reminds us of our dependence on God for life; it strengthens our feeling of gratitude for the gifts of creation; it acknowledges those who by their labors provide us with these goods; and it reaffirms our solidarity with those in greatest need.” Ladauto Si’ #227.

Here is a prayer that can be used before and after any meal, any day of the year.

Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation

       through your goodness we enjoy the fruits of the earth

             and we are grateful,

               for bread broken amidst family and friends,

               for food that nourishes and sustains,

               for drink that quenches our thirst,

            May we be ever mindful of what we often take for granted ,

                your bounty that transcends our scarcity,

                your self-giving that outshines our selfishness,

                your faithfulness that trumps our fear.

            We are witnesses to your grace and mercy. 

            In tales told and lives lived, may we be ever willing and ready to share your blessings with others

            as generously as you have shared yourself with us,

                lavishly,

                lovingly,

                unconditionally.

            AMEN

Happy Thanksgiving!