Thanksgiving Sunday

The word Eucharist is actually rooted in the Greek word for "Thanksgiving".  When we gather for Eucharist - we are giving our Praise and Thanks to God.  The Eucharistic Prayer is the best prayer we have to give praise and thanks to God Liturgically. Yet this ritual prayer of ours as a community will always be lacking if we are not able to offer our own personal prayers of thanksgiving. Maybe the liturgy can form us in how to do this in a personal way: listening to God, realizing what we have, thanking God, looking forward to service.
In the Liturgy, having gathered together, we listen to God's Word.  This word speaks to us in every time and place and is not simply stories about people with hard to pronounce names from places far far away.  God's word is living and true - and speaks to us today - here and now.  Maybe in our personal prayer we could start by taking time to listen to God.  Listen in silence for God to speak.
Having listened to God's word, we place our gifts on the Altar.  We place our very selves in that bread and wine. We offer ourselves, and that offering - joined to Christ's timeless offering on the Cross - transforms what we have offered.  Transforms us. We recognize what we have and the One who has provided it.
In recognizing the giver of all gifts, we praise and thank God.  This gratitude can permeate our whole being, transforming entitlement (what do I get / deserve) to appreciation.
Having given our thanks to God, we leave our prayer recommitted to live our lives in service of Christ, in service of the Gospel. Our time of personal prayer and expression of Gratitude is not simply for our selves, but rather joins us more and more to Christ - who lived his life for the life of the world.


Fr. Thomas Rosica, the Director of Salt and Light Media, offered a meditation on Thanksgiving that I wanted to share with you.  As you gather at the table of the Lord, and as you gather at your dining table as a family and with those you love, my prayer is that you will see the connection between these 2 tables!

Peace