It is good that Thanksgiving is upon us. We are given the opportunity in this holiday to be intentional about our appreciating so that we can respond accordingly to what is indeed important and allow our life to revolve around these priorities. Amid our fast-paced society, we don’t take enough time to slow down and smell the roses, or the coffee, or whatever phrase you’d like to use to really appreciate the wonders of life and those things that are gifted to us. Appreciate. Appreciate – it is great word, meaning to set a value to something. It is easier to discard, do away with, take for granted those people or things we don’t appreciate in our life because we don’t recognize their value. It is ironic that the most valuable things in life are perhaps the ones we show our appreciation to the least, and it is unfortunate that we sometimes learn to appreciate what we had only after it’s gone.
It is good that Thanksgiving is upon us. We are given the opportunity in this holiday to be intentional about our appreciating so that we can respond accordingly to what is indeed important and allow our life to revolve around these priorities. So, what do we do with this opportunity? Often enough at this time, we begin to ask, “what are you thankful for?” I can remember making such reflective projects at school centering on this question and many of us go around the dinner table to share their answer. It is a good start, and this tends to generate a nice list of the important things of life that we ought to give our time and attention to. But the answers start to get a little trite as some of the same things are mentioned over and over again. That doesn’t make them less important, of course, but the idea of appreciation goes beyond the “what” to an evaluation of the “why” – “why are you thankful for that in particular?” The answer to this question will reveal our inspirations, our motivations, our values. It will reveal something of our being: who once were, who we are now, whom we hope to become. The answer will reveal something of the inner depth of our souls. Perhaps, this is the question that we could ask ourselves this time around: “why are you thankful for that in particular?” The responses will amaze you.
It is good that Thanksgiving is upon us. We are given the opportunity in this holiday to be intentional about our appreciating so that we can respond accordingly to what is indeed important and allow our life to revolve around these priorities. When we know why we appreciate something, then we recognize how truly to give thanks. A resulting attitude of gratitude is indeed a manner of living consistent with what is most valuable to us. This holiday is upon us to be intentional about our appreciating, but the act of giving thanks is never out of season. The Eucharist literally means ‘Thanksgiving’. Come join us Thanksgiving morning at 10:00am to celebrate the Eucharist, to give thanks to God; why? – because we owe God everything, absolutely everything! Think about it. Happy feast of Christ the King of the Universe! Happy feast of Thanksgiving to you and yours.
With true thanksgiving for all of you,
Peace 
~Fr. Luke