Celebrate and Give Thanks

Almost all cultures of the world have ceremonies of thanks and many are focused around the harvest season. While we give the Pilgrims and Indians credit for establishing Thanksgiving, the origin of giving thanks comes from deep within the human heart as a natural response.
 
Although most of us are not farmers celebrating the harvest, we can give thanks to God who has showered us with many gifts, beginning with the gift of life itself. On this one day, more than any other, we have a tangible reminder of our gratitude to God. Here are a few ideas to help you celebrate and give thanks to God.
 
Go To Mass
Thanksgiving day is a great time to attend Mass as a family. The Opening Prayer for the Thanksgiving Day Mass reads as follows: “God and Father of all gifts, we praise you, the source of all we have and are.  Teach us to acknowledge always the many good things your infinite love has given us.  Help us to love you with all our heart and all our strength.”
 
Have a Gratitude Round Robin at Dinner
Have one person at a time thank each of the others at the dining table for something over the past year.  This helps draw everybody closer together as each person shares their personal thanks to those who are present around the table.
 
Remember Thanksgivings Past
During Thanksgiving dinner, ask each family member to share a favorite Thanksgiving memory.  Most of the times favorite memories can be the disasters of years past as you recollect the burned turkey, the time everybody came down with the flu or when the snowstorm stranded you on your way home.
 
Gratitude helps us concentrate on the realities in our life–when we are grateful, it helps us focus on the blessings in our lives instead of the day to day irritations.
 
During this season of Thanksgiving it is easy for us to spend one day being grateful and fulfilled, but how grateful are we the other 364 days of the year? Here are some ideas to spread that Thanksgiving gratitude throughout the year:
 
Start a Gratitude Journal
Take time each day or once a week to write down the things for which you are grateful. Being consciously grateful helps you discover what you take for granted–job, freedom, birds, the very air you breathe. The list of things we each take for granted can go on and on.  Yet each of these things, no matter how important or mundane, is a gift from God.
 
Share a Time of Thanks at Mealtime
Have each person at the dinner table announce three things that happened that day for which they are grateful.  In a family with young children this can range from the amusing to the profound. The gratefulness discussion at meals can provide fodder for discussions and keep gratitude at the forefront.
 
End Your Day with a Thanksgiving Prayer
At bedtime each of us can spend a few moments in silence to reflect on our day and say a prayer of thanksgiving about the things we experienced during our waking hours.  We are showered with blessings from God each and every minute of the day and night.
 
Use Your Senses
Use your 5 senses to concentrate of the wonder of the world around you. 
Touching, seeing, smelling, tasting, and hearing help us to appreciate the miracle it is to be alive. Once we start noticing the small things around us, it’s easy to get out of our natural tendency to see what is wrong and instead focus on all the little blessings we receive daily
 
So this year, in addition to November 24th being one day of Thanksgiving, have it be the first day of a year of thanksgiving.  I wish each and every one of you a happy and blessed day as we offer thanks together to our God.
 
"And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Colossians 3:17
 
Coming Soon ... A Reflection on Advent.

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