Thanksgiving, 2024
Sir. 50:22-24; 1 Cor. 1:3-9; Lk. 17:11-19 Gratitude for God’s Grace. Dcn. Bill Kenney
On Thanksgiving Day we recall the blessings in our lives given to us by the grace of God such as our faith, family, friends, fitness in mind and body, our future, and others. Thomas Kempis tells us that “… in your friendships, as in all other things, always place God first, as the source and font of all that is good. It is a grace and it should be nurtured with humility and love. Be thankful for it and the Holy Spirit will continue to bless you.” Gratitude is a positive response to God's grace and goodness for the blessings in our lives. Gratitude points away from self and toward the dignity of the Giver. This theme of gratitude is consistent in our Scripture passages today.
Our first reading from the Book of Sirach tells us we bless God by responding to his gifts of grace with our praise and thanksgiving. Through this expression of love and gratitude, God grants us his peace, goodness, and joy to sustain us in our days of earthly pilgrimage.
St. Paul tells the Corinthians of his thanks to God for his unshakable faithfulness and graces for growing their faith and fellowship in Jesus Christ.
In our Gospel reading from Luke we hear about the ten healed lepers, at least one of which was a Samaritan- a foreigner in both domicile and faith. Lepers were the untouchables of society and were often portrayed as a symbol of our sin. The Samaritans were sometimes mentioned by Jesus in parables to explain his Way of faith, justice, and mercy to his disciples. If shunned Samaritans, believers of misguided false doctrine, could exhibit peace, goodness, and charity for others, so must his followers. Recall the Good Samaritan demonstrating true love of neighbor and the Samaritan woman at the well drawing faith from life-giving water and her acceptance by the Lord.
Together, the ten lepers cry out for mercy- pleading for Jesus to heal them. Theirs’s was a sign of trust in who Jesus was and what he could do. Their conviction and obedience healed all ten of them before they showed themselves to the priests. But a single Samaritan returned. He made it a priority to praise God and give thanks to Jesus first. His faith, coupled with his gratitude, not only healed his body but also saved his soul. Now, the Samaritan without his leprosy, by demonstrating such gratitude, has become instead a contagious lesson to Christ’s followers.
Scripture is filled with verses about gratitude and Psalms of thanksgiving that can inspire our lives and fill us with the power of grace. I invite you to spice up your traditional Catholic Thanksgiving dinner prayer with a psalm of thanksgiving and praise to God for all his blessings in your lives. For example, Psalm 106: “Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.”
This Thanksgiving Holiday and always, let us live a Eucharistic life in joy and thanksgiving for all God’s blessings. May the gift of God’s grace unite us in profound gratitude, belief, and reverence for the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, for our salvation and for the glory of God.
(4:16)