Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving Day to all who visit this blog!  It's a day to be grateful to the Lord for all of His goodness to us:

• The gift of life itself
• The gift of our parents who gave us life here on earth
• The gift of eternal life that awaits us
• The gift of our faith, our hope, our love
• The gift of our families: our mom and dad and our siblings and all of our relatives
• The gift of our friends
• The gift of our education: grade school, high school, college--undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate work
• The gift of our teachers, school counselors, teacher assistants, deans, janitors, coaches
• The gift of the universe and all of the galaxies
• The gift of the sun and moon and stars and all of the planets
• The gift of air, of chemicals, minerals, atoms, molecules 
• The gift of sand and pebbles, mountains and hills, valleys, deserts and fertile lands
• The gift of intelligence, imagination and contemplation
• The gift of all of the sacraments Eucharist and of  the Scriptures
• The gift of male and female in all species
• The gift of freedom
• The gift of the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit
• The gift of redemption, of repentance, of reconciliation and forgiveness
• The gift of Mary and Joseph and all disciples who have handed down the faith to us
• The gift of all religions
• The gift of all countries, nations, nationalities, races and cultures
• The gift of friends
• The gift of the seasons: spring, summer, fall and winter
• The gift of farmers and all professions
• The gift of food-bearing plants
• The gift of all plants and all animals and all of the fishes in our lakes, seas, rivers, oceans
• Our creative abilities
• And so much more! 

THANK YOU, LORD!

For what are you grateful?

An Abundance of Graces from our God

St. Paul reminds us in today's first reading, 2 Cor 9: 1-10, that "God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work....The one who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed and increase the harvest of your righteousness." Engaging in good works means dying to selfishness, pride, greed, and so much more that blocks graces that God wants to give us in "an abundance", as we are reminded in today's Gospel, John 12: 24-24, where Jesus says to us:  "Amen, amen, I say to you unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me."

In what good works was I involved today?  In what ways did God supply the seed I needed or multiply the good I did today?  How did God "increase the harvest of [my] righteousness" today? To what, today, did I die in order to produce the fruits of honesty, humility, kindness, compassion and love?

The Death and Life of Jesus in Us

"...[W]e who live are constantly being given up to death for the sake of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal bodies." We know "that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and place us with you his presence.  Everything indeed is for you, so that the grace bestowed in abundance on more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow for the glory of God."  Truly, "we hold this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us"  (2 Cor 4: -15).

Dying with Jesus and rising with Jesus--all for the sake of others in order that "thanksgiving" will
overflow for the glory of God!  What a treasure and what a gift to be  an instrument in God's hands for "abundance" to be outpoured upon others, to be the "cause" of "thanksgiving" to gush forth from others in glory of God's holy name!

What a sacred mission! And as difficult as it is to be "given up to death for the sake of Jesus," what a grace to rise with Christ to new life in the dying to selfishness, to impatience, to pride, to fear, to avarice and greed and whatever blocks grace from flowing through us!  May we, each day, see patience, humility, courage, love, generosity, wisdom and all the gifts of the Spirit rise in us to the glory of God forever and ever. Amen!  

God's Generosity

In today’s first reading, 2 Cor 9: 6-10, Paul reminds us that “God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for ever y good work.”  We could paraphrase that to read: “God makes every grace abundant for you and me, so that in all things,  always having all we need, you and I may have an abundance for every good work.” Or hear the Lord speaking directly to you, saying: “I make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you do have an abundance for every good work.”

I encourage you to sit with, ponder, reflect upon, soak in the following words:  “I make every grace abundant for you.”   Also bask in the words: “…So that in all things, always having all you need, you may have [will have, do have] an abundance for every good work” I ask of you to do!  What do we sometimes?   I’m afraid that we often find one excuse after another  and another  not to do the good God is calling us to do!  Lord, have mercy!

Belief in an Abundance

In today’s first reading, Gen. 13: 2, 5-18, we read the story of Abram and Lot being “very rich in livestock, silver, and gold.” The flock and herds and tents of both were so great that “the land could not support them if they stayed together; their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together.” So Abram says to Lot: “Let there be no strife between you and me, or between  your herdsmen and mine, for we are kinsmen. Is not the whole land at your disposal?  Please separate from me. If you prefer the left, I will go to the right; if you prefer the right, I will go to the left.”

As I reflected upon that passage, I realized that when I am “fighting” with another, it is a sign of my lack of faith in the Lord’s ability, desire and power to fulfill my needs, to take care of my religious community, for instance, and its needs for new vocations and for whatever else my province needs to thrive. God is a generous God. There is an abundance of graces available to meet our needs for ongoing conversion, for future ministry, for an increase in membership or for new membership (not necessarily in huge numbers but sufficient for the work/ministry to which  God is calling us).  In my personal life, when I am “fighting” with another for whatever I want or believe I need, then, too, I am functioning from a position of lack, not believing in abundance, an abundance readily available to me through God, my Savior and the Creative Energy and Power at work in my life on a daily basis.

If we—the church, the nations of the world, municipalities, governing bodies of all sorts, members of families, corporations throughout the world--are going to work out of our differences, we need the faith of Abram, knowing that there is enough for all and that all can be part of the decision-making process (Abram included Lot and his family, Lot and his herdsmen). We need to be able to let go, as Abram did, be willing to compromise and be concerned that our neighbor’s needs are met, knowing, in fact, that ours will be met as well. What a difference we would make in the world of today, if we functioned with the faith of Abram and practiced his negotiating and compromising skills, in inclusivity of others in the decision-making process! How "rich" my life would be if I operated from the stance of faith in God's abundance.