Humbly submit your will to God (thy Will be done) and consecrate yourself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through Mary.

Thanksgiving Day Readings

And now, bless the God of all,
who has done wondrous things on earth;
Who fosters people’s growth from their mother’s womb,
and fashions them according to his will!
May he grant you joy of heart
and may peace abide among you; Sir 50:22-23

I give thanks to my God always on your account
for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus,
that in him you were enriched in every way,
with all discourse and all knowledge,
as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you,
so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift
as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He will keep you firm to the end,
irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is faithful,
and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Cor 1:3-9

Paul reminds us of the gifts God has given us through the death and resurrection of His Son. In Baptism, we are not “lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ”. We have the gift of the Scriptures to know God’s plan of salvation for our souls. We must read the Scriptures because we cannot worship something we do not know. With this knowledge, we recognize the gifts God has given us and that our life is a gift from Him. We then can humble ourselves before Him to be thankful and share the love and forgiveness He has for us with others. God is always faithful, are we faithful to Him? We are children of God and brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ. Is there any greater gift?  Only if you know Jesus personally by spending time with Him.  Do you know Jesus personally, as a brother, a friend?  God has given us the gifts we need to get back to Him, we must recognize we have these gifts and allow the Holy Spirit to work through us to serve others.

As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem,
he traveled through Samaria and Galilee.
As he was entering a village, ten persons with leprosy met him.
They stood at a distance from him and raised their voices, saying,
“Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!”
And when he saw them, he said,
“Go show yourselves to the priests.”
As they were going they were cleansed.
And one of them, realizing he had been healed,
returned, glorifying God in a loud voice;
and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.
He was a Samaritan.
Jesus said in reply,
“Ten were cleansed, were they not?
Where are the other nine?
Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?”
Then he said to him, “Stand up and go;
your faith has saved you.” Lk 17:11-19

We are reminded every day at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass that Jesus died on the cross and resurrected to save us. Each day we wake because God is sustaining us. Are we the 10 lepers or the 1 that came back and fall at the feet of Jesus to thank Him. Often times we feel entitled to things, like we deserve them because we have worked hard or done everything right. God deserves all of the glory. Everything we are and everything we do must be focused on giving God the glory. By recognizing our lives are a complete free gift from God, we are called to die to self and give our lives to God allowing Him to work through us in the Holy Spirit. This is difficult, actually there is not anything more difficult than this. Where do we go to be sustained in our journey and stay focused on God and our heavenly home? The Eucharist, which means “Thanksgiving”. The Eucharist is heaven on earth because it is Jesus Christ, body, blood, soul, and divinity. We come to worship as a community of believers around this great gift. We are filled with Christ for the journey and recognize all of the great gifts God has bestowed on us, then we go into our homes, schools, businesses, and community to be Christ for others and serve. God is amazing and our lives are such a great gift, do not allow the devil to steal your joy.

Today’s challenge: Take time to be still and recognize all of the gifts God has blessed you with. Start a gratitude journal and list 5 things you are thankful for each day. Take time today to reflect on or write down all that God has blessed you with.

“If you want to stop complaining, be thankful.” -Bishop Gerber

Be a servant, become a saint!
​#Christian YOLO