Thanksgiving: A Day for Love and Gratitude

Around tables throughout America, families will gather to thank God and love one another on this day of appreciation.

CHESAPEAKE, Va. (Catholic Online) - Chiara Lubich was the beloved foundress of the Focolare movement. Focolare is one of a growing number of ecclesial movements flourishing within the Catholic Church. The modern Pope's have called these predominantly lay movements the "finger of God" for this new missionary age. They are what the late Servant of God John Paul II liked to call "signs of a springtime of world missions."

Chiara was born on January 22, 1920 and went home to the Lord on March 14, 2008. Those who knew her say that she lived her life animated by love and in a constant attitude of thanksgiving. Inspired by her heroic virtue, men and women were drawn closer to Jesus Christ and, in Him, into a deep relationship with one another to continue the redemptive mission of Jesus. This movement spread to more than 180 countries and had 140,000 members and 2.1 million affiliates at the time of her death. She was 88 years young, still in love with Jesus and filled with joy.

It was Chiara's intimate relationship with the Lord which gave her the grace to love as He loves. It was also the source of her continual gratitude. It can be that way with each one of us. A readiness to give thanks in all circumstances - and for everything and everyone - is a sign of holiness in the lives of so many of the great saints and heroes of the Christian tradition.

On this Thanksgiving Day, I share a few of her words as a gift for our readers:

"Yes, love makes us be. We exist because we love. If we don't love, and every time we don't love, we are not, we do not exist. There's nothing left to do but to love, without holding back. Only in this way will God give himself to us and with him will come the fullness of his gifts.

Let us give concretely to those around us, knowing that by giving to them we are giving to God. Let's give always; let's give a smile, let's offer understanding, and forgiveness. Let's listen, let's share our knowledge, our availability; let's give our time, our talents, our ideas, our work; let's give our experience, our skills; let's share our goods with others so that we don't accumulate things and everything circulates.

Our giving opens the hands of God and He, in his providence, fills us with such an abundance that we can give again, and give more, and then receive again, and in this way we can meet the immense needs of many."

This beautifully simple yet profound truth was also regularly expressed by the late Servant of God John Paul II. In his 1979 Encyclical Letter "The Redeemer of Man" he put it this way:

"Man cannot live without love. He remains a being that is incomprehensible for himself, his life is senseless, if love is not revealed to him, if he does not encounter love, if he does not experience it and make it his own, if he does not participate intimately in it. This, as has already been said, is why Christ the Redeemer "fully reveals man to himself". If we may use the expression, this is the human dimension of the mystery of the Redemption. In this dimension man finds again the greatness, dignity and value that belong to his humanity. In the mystery of the Redemption man becomes newly "expressed" and, in a way, is newly created." (Par. 10)

The Feast we celebrate in the "secular" arena today reveals that there really is no separation between the secular and the spiritual. After all, God is the Creator of all and the Author of life. He is also the source of all that is good - whether He is acknowledged to be so or not. As the beloved disciple John said "Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God." We will love today. We will reach out to one another and to the less fortunate. When we do we will participate in the love of God. We will give thanks today, for all the great gifts we have received. As we do, we draw His presence more deeply into our daily life together. Love and gratitude are the keys to unlock the deeper meaning of life and the true goodness of this day.

The smell of turkey is already filling the Fournier home as I write, from the early preparation of the gravy and dressing. Each of our grown children who can be with us this year brought a contribution to the bountiful spread. The table will soon be set for the Feast. And a wonderful Feast it is - this unique American celebration called Thanksgiving. It is a rather extraordinary tradition. An entire Nation, in the beauty of all of its rich diversity and pluralism, pauses as one - to love and to give thanks for all of our blessings and our bounty. We gather to express our gratitude for our health, our happiness and our life together. Around tables throughout America, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will gather with mothers and fathers, Grandpas and Grandmas, extended family, neighbors and friends to thank God and one another. And then, we will all feast; not only on the food, but even more importantly, on the gift of the love which informs all family relationships and true friendships, the real source of lasting joy. As Chiara Lubich and John Paul II reminded us, we were indeed made for love.

Laughter and stories of the past and of childhood years will fill the air in my own home. Even the times that seemed so painful and difficult when lived, now take on new beauty. Time has a way of revealing the mysterious plan of a loving God who was at work - not in spite of those problems but through them - drawing us closer to Him, to each other and to what really matters most in life. Most of the stories have been told before, but on this day, they all become new again. It is also a day of reflection and remembrance for those family members not able to be around the table and those who have died. On this "secular" holiday, infused as it is with such religious meaning, Catholic Christians should remember that the Greek word from which we derive the word "Eucharist" is rendered "Thanksgiving" in English.

How appropriate. In that Sacrament of Sacraments, we receive Jesus Christ in His fullness, the greatest gift of the Father. And, we are called to give thanks. In the words of the Apostle Paul to the early Christians we are reminded to "Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thess. 5:16-18) One of the ways we who are Christians do this is to become people who choose to live our lives for others.

Today the Church calls her faithful sons and daughters to give thanks in her Liturgy. St. Teresa was fond of saying "We will not learn how to love if we are not grateful." The Readings for the Mass for Thanksgiving call us to gratitude. Jesus, in His Sacred humanity shows us how to live a life of gratitude and, through the gift of Himself, makes it possible.Pope John Paul II affirmed in a message he gave to the faithful on July 29, 1987 "In the truest sense we can say that the prayer of the Lord and his entire earthly existence become a revelation of the fundamental truth: Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Lights" (James 1:17). Thanksgiving is the source of all blessings from on high. 'Let us give thanks to the Lord our God' is invitation the Church places at the centre of the Eucharistic liturgy."

Cultivating a disposition of gratitude and a way of living our lives in love for others - such as what was demonstrated in the lives of Chiara Lubich and the late Servant of God John Paul II - is the real key to living our earthly lives to the full. It also prepares us for eternity. We will be reminded again in the prayer of the priest in the Preface of the Mass for Thanksgiving Day: "Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord". And, standing in the person of Christ, the priest will lead us in this prayer: "We offer you, Father, this sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving for the gifts you have granted us. Help us to recognize them as the benefits we have received from you through no merit of our own" (Prayer over the Gifts)

Let us choose to make this prayer our own today. Happy Thanksgiving to all of our readers, may it be a day for love and gratitude.

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