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Thanksgiving Day PrayersO God, when I have food, help me to remember the hungry; When I have work, help me to remember the jobless; When I have a home, help me to remember those who have no home at all; When I am without pain, help me to remember those who suffer, And remembering, help me to destroy my complacency; bestir my compassion, and be concerned enough to help; By word and deed, those who cry out for what we take for granted.Amen.Thanksgiving PrayerFor each new morning with its light, For rest and shelter of the night, For health and food, For love and friends, For everything thy goodness sends.—?Ralph Waldo EmersonPsalm 138 - Giving ThanksR. I will give you thanks, O Lord, with all my heart.Psalm 138I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart, for you have heard the words of my mouth; in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise; I will worship at your holy temple and give thanks to your name, R.Because of your kindness and your truth; for you have made great above all things your name and your promise. When I called, you answered me; you built up strength within me. R.All the kings of the earth shall givethanks to you, O LORD,when they hear the words of your mouth; And they shall sing of the ways of the LORD: "Great is the glory of the LORD." R.St. Joseph Church – Visit us online – 7424056-544300St. Joseph ChurchThanksgiving Day, 2020Happy Thanksgiving Everyone !Reflection—Daily Life, Being Thankful‘We, the ordinary people of the streets, know very well that as long as our own will is alive, we will not be able to love Christ definitively. ‘However, for us the tiny circumstances of life are faithful “superiors.” They do not leave us alone for a moment; and the “yeses” we have to say to them follow continuously, one after the other.‘When we surrender to them without resistance we find ourselves wonderfully liberated from ourselves. We float in Providence like a cork on the ocean waters…‘From the moment we wake up these circumstances take hold of us. It is the telephone that rings; it is the key that won’t work, the bus that doesn’t arrive or arrives full, or doesn’t wait for us. It is the person sitting next to us who takes up the whole seat; or the vibration of the loose window pane that drives us crazy.‘It’s the daily routine, one chore that leads to another, some job we wouldn’t have chosen. It’s the weather and its changes – which is exquisite precisely because it is completely untainted by human doing. It’s being cold, or being hot; it’s the headache or the toothache. It’s the people we meet and the conversations they choose to start. It’s the rude man who nearly knocks us off the sidewalk. It’s the people who need to kill some time, and so they corner us.‘For us, the ordinary people of the streets, obedience means bending to the ways of our times whenever they are not harmful… ‘When we live with others, obedience also means we set aside our own tastes and leave things in the place others have put them. In this way, life becomes an epic film in slow motion. It does not make our head spin. It does not take our breath away. Little by little, thread by thread, it eats away at the old man’s frame, which cannot be mended and must be made new from the ground up. When we thus become accustomed to giving up our will to so many tiny things, we will no longer find it hard, when the occasion presents itself, to do the will of our boss, our husband, or our parents.‘And our hope is that death, too, will be easy’- Servant of God, Madeleine Delbrel (+1964) was a French laywoman, writer, and mystic devoted to caring for the poor and to evangelizing culture.The Thanksgiving Holiday, From Then to NowThanksgiving is definitely a religious holiday rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition of our country.? Although the secularism of our present culture may have turned the focus more to feasting, football, and family gathering, we must not forget the history and the religious significance of this American holiday.Actually, the first Thanksgiving Day observance originated in Virginia.? On December 4, 1619, 38 English settlers arrived at Berkely Plantation on the James River near present Charles City, Virginia.? The settlement’s charter required that the day of arrival be commemorated as a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God.Most Americans, however, immediately associate our thanksgiving celebration with the Pilgrims and their journey across the Atlantic on the Mayflower in search of a new land and religious freedom.? After their perilous journey and with little food and supplies left, they arrived on November 21, 1620 at Plymouth, Massachusetts.? During their first year, the Pilgrims endured many hardships and nearly half of the original one hundred settlers died.? Fortunately, the Native Americans befriended the Pilgrims.? Squanto, who had learned English from traders, not only showed the Pilgrims how to grow and grind corn, and how to hunt and fish in the new land, he assisted in negotiating a treaty with Chief Massasoit of the Wampanoag Native Americans.? Governor William Bradford, remarked that Squanto was “…a special instrument sent of God for their good beyond their expectations.”? Near the time of the first anniversary of their arrival, Governor Bradford declared a day of prayer and thanksgiving to God.? About 60 pilgrims were joined by 90 Native Americans for this celebration.? The tradition continued and spread throughout the New England colonies, although no official date of celebration was set until later.As Catholics, we too must not forget how our own religion was outlawed and persecuted in England at this time.? On November 22, 1633, a group of three hundred colonists (one-third of whom were Catholic) set sail from Yarmouth harbor to establish the new colony of Maryland, where religious freedom for all people would be allowed.? When they arrived at St. Clement’s Island on March 25, 1634, Father Andrew White, S.J. celebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving, the first Mass in the English col nies.? (Remember the word Eucharist means “thanksgiving.”)? They also were befriended by the Native Americans of the Piscataway and Yoacomaco tribes.? Interestingly, these tribes believed in one true God and offered a thanksgiving ritual of first fruits at their harvest time.? The Maryland colonists would continue to offer thanksgiving festivals.After the Revolutionary War, at the request of Congress, President George Washington declared that Thursday, November 26, 1789, would be for the people of the United States a day of thanksgiving:? “As a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and single favors of Almighty God.”? The declaration exhorted the people to “beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions, to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.”In 1863, President Lincoln designated the last Thursday of November nationally “as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father.”?We should pause this Thanksgiving Day and take time to pray, reflect on our lives, and give thanks.? Each Catholic should make a real effort to participate in the Mass and come to the Banquet of our Lord to lift up our hearts in Thanksgiving and to receive Him in the Holy Eucharist.? Yes, we give thanks for the gifts of faith, Church, and Sacraments.? We give thanks for the loved ones who are entrusted to our care and those who care for us.? We give thanks for our country which has provided such great opportunities, security, and peace.? In all, we give thanks and rejoice in the Lord who has blessed each of us with so much and in so many ways. ................
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