24 November 2016
Thanksgiving Day
In the 1st reading for Thanksgiving Day St. Paul uses one of his favorite words: gift (charisma in Greek). Charisma is something freely given, something not deserved. The Father’s charisma to us is his Son, who redeems us and his Holy Spirit who makes us his adopted children. Today we thank God primarily for this gift.
Thanksgiving is also the feast of the family, and as we share our Thanksgiving dinner with our families, we thank God for this charisma. We thank him also for our extended community, our nation, and for the many gifts that are personal to us alone.
But Jesus’ Gospel account of the healing of the lepers demonstrates how ungrateful I can be for the gifts I have received.
Like the one leper, how often do I come back to the Lord to thank him for the many gifts he has given to me? How seldom do I reflect that these gifts are given in trusteeship? How often do I thank him for my family, my friends, my country?