HOMILY WEEK 28 01 -Year I

On Being Thankful and Living with Gratitude:

Optional Mass – Thanksgiving Day 2019

(Col 3:12-17; Ps 113; Mt 7:7-12)

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The remark “A grateful person is a happy person” was made on a panel show once, causing me to reflect on its truth ever since.

That truth is especially expressed in the first reading for this optional mass, with its encouragement to “be thankful” and to “live with gratitude” – great advice for Thanksgiving Day.

St. Paul, in that first reading to the Colossians, brilliantly summarizes a Christian’s life under the umbrella of being chosen, holy and loved. To be loved, for Paul, is to be forgiven and called to love in turn, by forgiving others as we have been forgiven, and to express that love through compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience.

All of that will lead to the experience of peace and serenity in our lives, as well as an underlying attitude of gratitude and being thankful for all our blessings. Psalm 113 adds the invitation to express our gratitude by praising the name of the Lord. The Serenity Prayer echoes these traits: “God, grant me serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”

St. Pauls’ invitation to “let the word of Christ dwell in us richly” connects to the gospel in which Jesus teaches his disciples about prayer of petition, of turning to God in our need. We are first to search the scriptures for what God wants to give us, and as we search the parallel passage in Luke, we find the best of the good things God wants to give us is the Holy Spirit (“How much more so will God give the Holy Spirit to those who ask for it” – Luke 11:13). That is another reason for us to be truly grateful.

Step 11 of the 12 Step program of A.A. is very similar – “Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, seeking only the knowledge of God’s will for us and the power to carry it out.” That too, is actually all we have to pray for. Those who are experiencing sobriety, joyous and free, as a result of working those steps have an attitude of gratitude in common.

Well-known retreat master Fr. Matt Linn S.J. encourages participants in the events he presents to end each day with a litany of thanksgiving for the day’s blessings, as a way of deepening our joy in life. I would add that since God turns everything to the good for those who love God, we can even thank God for the trials, failures and challenges we face each day, adding to that gratitude.

That inspired me to come up with a litany of the things for which I am grateful for in my life, which have given me both joy on the one hand, and made me a deeper, more compassionate person on the other.

The blessings include: the gift of faith in a Trinitarian God who is family, relationship, divine dance; faith in Jesus who is brother, savior, Lord and intimate friend; the love of Mary our spiritual mother; belonging to the Body of Christ, the church; parents who within all their limitations of codependency and workaholism gave us stability, security, affirmation, love of music, values of honesty, responsibility, self-worth as important members of a farming family with chores to carry out and freedom to develop our talents; the support and challenge of siblings; friends and soul-mates who accepted me as I was; Oblate community life; the support of my brother bishops; the richness of Indigenous ministry; spiritual directors who guided my steps along life’s way; the 12 Step movement; wise mentors like Jean Vanier, Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen, Dorothy Day, Catherine de Hueck-Dougherty, Richard Rohr, Ron Rolheiser to name a few who taught me so much; dedicated lay men and women who love and serve the church in so many ways; the love of many World Wide Marriage Encounter couples, and most recently the dedication of numerous members of the St. Vincent de Paul Society so dedicated to serving the poor.

The challenges and trials include some failures, burn-outs, resignations and some betrayals which, as I look back, led me to sink deeper roots of faith, learn to forgive and apologize, pray for healing, deepen my understanding of our human brokenness and be less judgemental – all reasons to be grateful as well, in the end.

Letting this list flow out of my life experience filled me with a sense of joy, deep peace and gratitude, and helped me to see the wisdom of Mat Linn’s suggestion to end each day with a litany of blessings.  May I suggest we all take him up on that way to end our day?

The Eucharist itself means, in Greek, “to give thanks.” It is our greatest prayer, and so the best way we can give thanks to God for all of God’s blessings in our lives. May our celebration today help us to live out those words of St. Paul – to “be thankful and live with gratitude.”