Thanksgiving has always been special to me. It is a great day for family. It may be my favorite liturgy of the year as so many people come to church because they want to. And my first memory of talking to God from my heart took place at a Thanksgiving Mass.
I was a young boy at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Bethesda with my family at church on Thanksgiving morning. I returned to our pew after receiving Communion, knelt to pray, and started thanking God for everything I could think of. A litany of thanks followed.
The memory of it is still vivid, and that moment broadened my experience of prayer. It was the beginning of my talking to God as I would a friend in addition to saying the memorized prayers I knew so well.
I’m reminded every year at this time that my first “heart-to-heart” talk with God (that I remember anyway) was a prayer of thanks. I’ve tried to continue that in the decades that have since passed. Several years ago, I even changed my holiday cards to Thanksgiving cards to remind me how blessed I am as a priest working in various ministries and meeting so many wonderful people.
As we get ready to celebrate Thanksgiving Day, it’s a good opportunity for all of us to think about how much we say “thank you” to God. St. Paul tells us that God wants us to do that: “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
I encourage you to take some time to reflect upon what you’re thankful for. Maybe even write them down and share them with loved ones so they can see how grateful you are for the ways God has blessed you and watched over you.
I do this every year for my Thanksgiving card, and I thought it might be appropriate to share some of what’s on my list. I am thankful for…
Family. I was born into an amazing family through the grace of God. I hope it doesn’t sound presumptuous, but I really think our family – with 13 children and a wonderful mom and dad – was the epitome of life in the 1950s, ‘60s, and early ‘70s.
We were a loving, Catholic family that lived our faith every day and every Sunday at Mass. We all really liked each other and enjoyed much fun together. We siblings still get together every Thanksgiving to celebrate our national holiday and say “thank you” to God.
Vocation. To be honest, I had no idea how fulfilling my life as a priest would be. I wanted to be a priest, but I didn’t realize how blessed I would be just trying to do the Lord’s work.
I feel most fulfilled when I give, and being a priest means my life is about giving. Giving absolution in the Sacrament of Penance. Giving Eucharist, the very body and blood of our Risen Lord. Giving my presence to anoint those who are sick, witness the gift of marriage, or commend a loved one to God in Heaven. Or simply helping someone in need.
I am equally grateful for those who ask me to give them the sacraments and to walk the journey with them. I’ve always tried to say “yes” whenever I can, and my priestly vocation provides limitless opportunities to give. In giving, I receive even more.
Health. I am blessed to be generally healthy. Some issues make it harder to breathe when I play tennis, so I don’t do that much anymore. I have had two successful open-heart surgeries. Mostly, though, I feel great.
I know not everyone enjoys good health. I think about two classmates from St. John’s who are struggling with physical problems at the moment. I also think about the number of funerals I’m asked to do, which increases as I get older. As long as God gives me relatively good health, I will remain grateful and would like to keep working, ministering, and helping others.
Friends, parishioners, and coworkers. When a priest is assigned to a parish, he immediately becomes part of the family and fabric of that community. I’ve been in wonderful parishes, and I’m thankful for every one of them.
I’m thankful for the people who inspire me by the way they live through faith. I’m thankful for all who support and challenge me to be better as a priest, a pastor, or head of Catholic Charities. The people I’ve worked with, met in parishes, and served enhanced my life and helped me realize how blessed I am to be a priest called to serve every day.
Faith. I don’t take my faith for granted. It was given to me by God and my family, nuns, priests, teachers, and all who have influenced me along the way.
When I was a young boy, one of the sisters teaching at Our Lady of Lourdes school said to me, “God is like your father, only a thousand times better.” That simple description helped me begin to realize that God is someone I wanted to worship, praise, and adore – not just through words but through actions.
I have a faith in God who created me, wants me to do my best every day, and who will eventually bring me to him for all eternity. This has been the foundation of my journey. How could my heart not be full of gratitude?
In summary of all this, I am ever more aware of how God is and has been in charge. There are too many examples to share of things happening, and only in looking back did I clearly see God’s hand at work.
Meister Eckhart, the German priest from the 1200s, said, “If the only prayer you ever said in life was thank you, that would be enough.” Let’s use this celebration of Thanksgiving to slow down, think about God’s special blessings in our lives, and say thank you for all the gifts he has given to us.
God, thank you for all you do for us each and every day!
(Msgr. John Enzler serves as the mission advocate of Catholic Charities of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington and is a chaplain at his alma mater, St. John’s College High School in Washington. He writes the Faith in Action column for the archdiocese’s Catholic Standard and Spanish-language El Pregonero newspapers and websites.)
