During a month when we celebrate a holiday, Thanksgiving, where we gather with loved ones and partake of large quantities of delicious foods, I decided to sit and pray today with an old image.  I first saw it years ago in my sister-in-law, Penny’s home.  The image is called “Grace” by photographer Eric Enstrom.  This simple photo is of a bearded old man, with clenched interlocked fingers, thanking God for what appears to be a simple meal of soup and bread. It made me reflect on what it means to be truly thankful. 

Being thankful to God means accepting His divine provision for us, both in times of plenty and times of scarcity.  This seems to be at the heart of Thanksgiving. While many people argue about its origins, many historians give credit for instituting a day to give thanks to God, to the first President of the United States George Washington. On October 3, 1789, he issued a proclamation that reads in part:  

“Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of  Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to   implore his protection and favor-- and whereas both Houses of Congress  have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.

 Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be…” wrote Washington. 

 (You can read the rest taking the Thanksgiving Proclamation through the link below.) 

Being thankful puts us in the right posture and relationship with God and the family from which we came.  There’s a reason why when God gave Moses the 10 Commandments, after the first three that are about God Himself, comes the fourth which is about our relationship to our parents.  I definitely didn’t have perfect parents, but I never forgot, while they were living that I owe them my life, literally.  Who else but our parents nurture us out of infancy and childhood? 

Ultimately, our Catholic religion has as its cornerstone the most magnificent reminder of thankfulness, the Holy Eucharist.  Every time Catholics approach the altar for Holy Communion we are partaking in the ultimate feast of Thanksgiving.  The sharing of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.   Personally, I have never felt pangs of hunger I haven’t been able to satisfy within a reasonable amount of time.  Spiritual hunger is something else, and when it comes to that, there is nothing more satisfying than the fullness one feels those moments after Holy Communion when our Lord is one with us.

As we prepare for our family feasts, let’s remember those who, like the old man in “Grace” are thankful in their scarcity.  Maybe we can start a new Thanksgiving family tradition taking meals to our elderly neighbors or better yet, invite them to our table.  Happy Thanksgiving friends.  May our Lord continue to bless us with his abundant gifts.  

Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1789 | George Washington's Mount Vernon