A Provident God

Giving Thanks (c. 1905) by Harry Roseland

Thanksgiving is a holiday all about traditions: from recalling the circumstances of that fabled first Thanksgiving in the Plymouth colony four centuries ago, to the particular traditions established by our own families. There is one tradition though that many families seem to share: the one where each family member must recount what he or she is thankful for. Often, this tradition – at least as it is depicted in the movies – happens right at the beginning of Thanksgiving dinner, after everyone has sat down but before anyone is allowed to start eating. As each member takes his or her turn recounting the things for which they are grateful, the list grows longer and longer, and inevitably someone complains, “Hurry up already, I’m hungry!”

Taking time to be grateful is an important tradition, not just at Thanksgiving but at all times. In fact, for the Christian, gratitude is more than a tradition – it is an obligation, a part of the general spirit of worship and praise that we are called to have for God at all times. The fact that you are here at Mass this morning – on a day when the university is closed, on a day that is not a holy day of obligation – means that you probably know this very well. There is no better means by which we can show our gratitude to God than to participate in this liturgy, this Eukharistia (Greek for “Thanksgiving”), the Church’s sublime act of worship offered to the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit.

As we age, our gratitude grows and deepens as well. A child might be grateful for food on the table, the chance to visit with friends and relatives, perhaps the toys he or she is already looking forward to receiving at Christmas. An adult’s gratitude goes a little deeper: for family harmony, for the opportunity to work and provide for others, for experiences with and memories of loved ones no longer present. In time, of course, we come to realize that everything we have, however fleeting, is a blessing and so gratitude should be at heart of our very being. It is, in many ways, the foundation of an authentic relationship with God.

That’s not to say that gratitude is always easy. At times, it can be difficult to give thanks: there are blessings that come in unexpected or seemingly untimely ways; other blessings are difficult to receive or to know how to utilize; and perhaps most especially there are events and occurrences in life that don’t appear to be blessings at all. When we are in the midst of trial, disappointment, loss, want, or any other kind of suffering, to give thanks may be the very last thing our soul wants to do – but even then, we have an obligation to praise God, and to thank him. If nothing else, there is always at least the blessing of being invited to share in the sufferings of Christ and to be freed of our attachments to the present reality so that we might long more deeply for the eternal one to come.

In the second reading today, we heard St. Paul tell the Corinthians that they have received “the grace of God bestowed… in Christ Jesus,” such that they “are not lacking in any spiritual gift” but “enriched in every way.” Those words do not mean that all was joy and laughter for the Corinthians; in fact, from what we hear about that community in Paul’s letters, it was more of the opposite. But as Paul tells them, even sorrows and trials can become blessings for those who see with the eyes of faith. We are servants of a provident God, not an inscrutable one. In Christ, especially in his Resurrection, we have already been shown a glimpse of how God has arranged all things in the end unto our ultimate good. In the meantime, we call upon the Holy Spirit to help us believe "how all things work together unto good" for those who love God (Rom 8:28).

Friends, on this Thanksgiving Day, let us seek to be grateful not merely for the individual blessings that may come easily to mind today, but for everything, for the entirety of our relationship with God, including, even especially for the most difficult blessings. In the end, it is all sheer gift: our creation, our redemption, our sanctification – the very fact that you and I are here in this place, right this moment, participating in this Mass, this Eukharistia, this sacramental Thanksgiving. The greatest blessing God gives to us is that of he himself – our ability to know him, to praise him, to be in communion with him, so that in all things we may have faith in him, believing that even in sufferings and sorrows, there is a grace that he wishes to give to us. May a spirit of gratitude be renewed within us so that we may never fail at all times, in all seasons, to give praise and thanks to God.