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?

Happy Thanksgiving

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Thank you, Lord, for all of the graces and blessings of this past year.

How wonderful, Lord, are the blessings you send us every moment of every day, beginning

with waking us up to new life after strengthening us through a good night's sleep.

And, thank you, Lord, for the gift of your Presence that envelopes us throughout the day.

Never may we forget that You wrap your arms of love around us as we journey through life here  on earth.

Kindly, Lord, continue to walk beside us, behind us, and in front of us, even when we forget our need of your protection. 

So in need of you throughout the day, especially as we encounter obstacles and difficulties, we call upon you for your protection on a daily basis.

Grant us, Lord, a heart full of gratitude, knowing that without you we will go astray, giving in to temptations too forceful for us to overcome alone.

In your mercy, Lord, save us, especially when internal enemies wage war against the good within us.

Very often, Lord, our weaknesses have had the best of us, when, like Peter on the waters, we have taken our eyes off you.

In times when we foolishly believe that we can journey through difficulties on our own powers, send someone into our lives to redirect us to the Truth.

Never, Lord, may we abandon our trust and faith in You as our Lord and Savior.

Grateful for your Love and Mercy, we pray with Mary: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit finds joy in you, O God....God, you who are mighty, have done great things for me. Holy is your name" (cf Luke 1: 46-49).

Happy Thanksgiving

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of life and love.

Highly to be praised are You, O God, for holy is your name

And holy are you, O Lord, in all of creation, within which Your being dwells.

No other god is holy or worthy to be praised, honored, or glorified.

Kindness and love and goodness flow from you, O God, into all creatures.

So beautiful and radiant are you that all of creation reflects your beauty.

Giving totally of yourself, You, O God, as the God-man, gave your life for us upon the cross and rose again to set us free from anything that separates us from You.

In all of us, great and small, you pour out the Holy Spirit, to sanctify us and make us whole and to teach us Truth.

Vivifying is the life of the Spirit that sustains us and strengthens us every day to allow ourselves to be transformed into You!

In and through you, O Lord, we give glory and honor and praise to you through our love for others and ourselves, doing only what pleases You.

Never, Lord, let us depart from You.

Going forth from your Being, in which we live and more and are, may we know the gift of redemption, freely given through Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen