Pastors Keyboard: Some say that there are only two types of prayers to God: “Gimme, Gimme, Gimme” or “Thank You, Thank You, Thank You”. Which one do you pray most? My family has a tradition at Thanksgiving that many others follow. Before we eat dinner, we go around the table and talk about what we are thankful to God for. Sometimes we are surprised by what different family members or friends will say. Sometimes the things we thought were the worst have become the best, and sometimes those things that seemed so small and insignificant turned out the be the biggest and greatest of Blessings. Thanksgiving reminds us that the good Lord has and is blessing us, and we need to be grateful. Not because He needs our prayers, but in our expressing it to Him we ourselves come to know His love and His care and it gives us greater faith, trust, and hope.  And with everything going on in the world today, we can never have too much of faith, trust, or hope.

Recently one of the daily mass altar boys said to me, “I don’t know why we need Thanksgiving, after all we should be thankful to God everyday”. He is right about being thankful to God everyday but he’s wrong about not needing Thanksgiving. We need it because too often we are so busy we stop recognizing our greatest blessings: God, family, and friends. Not to mention the bare necessities that sustain us every day: the sun, food, and clothing. By having this holiday, we can concentrate even more on the truth of God’s generosity and our blessings, as well as trying to go forward with a heart that is not only grateful but generous to God, family, neighbors, and strangers. We have been given so much that we do not deserve. Let us give back in gratefulness and in love everyday of our lives. Praise be Jesus Christ Now and Forever!

Your brother and father in Christ,

Fr. Scott