CAUSE FOR REJOICING My dear parishioners, in 1621 the Wampanoag Indians shared a memorable meal with the Plymouth colonists they had befriended and to whom they entrusted priceless knowledge of the New World. In 1863, President Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a perpetual celebration to be held annually on the last Thursday of November. This national holiday was to be observed by all citizens whether at home in America, or at sea or in foreign lands. Soon American families everywhere celebrated this autumn harvest feast. Thanksgiving Day, our national celebration of gratitude to God, is so very Catholic in its nature. As its devotional name implies, Thanksgiving invites men and women of goodwill everywhere to pray for a prosperous tomorrow and implore God to welcome them at his heavenly banquet table in the age to come. To be genuinely festive, a community should be mindful of the mysterious heavens above and the fruitful earth below, giving thanks to God with all its mind, heart, soul and strength. The German Catholic philosopher Josef Pieper (d. 1997) saw in human celebrations a reflection of the “marriage supper of the Lamb” [Rev 19:9]: Ubi caritas gaudet, ibi est festivitas; “where love rejoices, there is festivity”. The praise of God in the Mass is the world’s most perfect expression of life and love, time and eternity. Only in the Mass is instituted the sacred authority and divine power by which the entire world is consecrated and blessed. Thus virtuous hope never sprang forth from the ground but was sent forth from heaven: SING PRAISES to the Lord, O you his saints,
and give thanks to his holy name . . . .
that my soul may praise thee and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to thee for ever. [Psa 30: 4,12] My dear friends, “faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love”. [1Cor 13:13] In these uncertain times, I give you joy, the joy of this Thanksgiving Day, the remembrance of which endures in our nation’s living history as testament of the beauty and the promise of the American people. And to the right of our nation’s citizens to choose for the good, to dwell securely in peace, to be self-sufficient and attain the sweet rewards of fidelity to God. In the hearts of Jesus and Mary. Your pastor, Reverend Richard Barker. +++
CAUSE FOR REJOICING