34th Week of Ordinary Time C – Thursday – Thanksgiving Day

Today in the United States, thanksgiving is given to God. We celebrate Thanksgiving Day in Canada a little bit earlier, and all around the world, during and around this time of harvest, all kinds of thanksgiving is being given to God—the Lord of the harvest, the provider, the source of all things, the one who gives us every good gift. How much ought we to praise Him and thank Him?

You know, so many times we get worried about the things that we do not have, the dreams that have not yet been fulfilled, the comfort level that we wish to attain in our lives but is not there yet. And sometimes, in our dismay, we forget to thank God for what we already have—and we already have much. We need to thank God for this very brand new day that He has given to us. The very fact that we woke up this morning is a sign of His care for us, a sign of His grace. Not everyone woke up this morning. Some this very night have transitioned into eternal life. So we have been given another opportunity with each passing day—another chance to make things right with God, to make things right with others, and to appreciate all the good gifts that we have received.

Now, a lot of times you hear people thanking all kinds of things and people and realities except God. You hear people thanking the universe: “We thank you, oh great universe, for all the fruits that you have bestowed.” No, no. The universe would never have existed had not the God who is not bound by material existence brought it forth—had He not brought it into existence. We thank the One who is the source of the universe, not the universe itself as it, apart from God, is the source of all goodness. We thank Mother Earth for all her bounty and all her goodness. No—Mother Earth comes from the eternal God. And so we should always direct our thanks primarily to God, and secondarily to others: our parents, our teachers, our police officers, doctors, all those who have helped us in some way and who make our daily living all that more beautiful, right down to the very people who provide our food. Not a little thing—but the source of that food is God.

In today’s readings from the Book of Sirach, we first hear this admonition: “And now bless the God of all, who has done wondrous things on earth.” See how he’s bringing it back to the source—to God. And then the psalmist says, “I will praise your name forever, Lord. Generation after generation praises your works and proclaims your might. They speak of the splendor of your glorious majesty and tell of your wondrous works.” The psalmist brings it back to God.

And then in the second reading from Saint Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, listen to what Saint Paul gives thanks for, and to whom: “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.” And so look at how Saint Paul is thanking God—for others, but in particular for those who share his walk of faith, for those who strengthen us in the one thing that matters the most: our relationship with God.

If you have somebody in your life who has helped you with your soul, with the things of above, thank God Almighty for them first and foremost, because they are a lifeline; they are vital to the life of our soul. We take care of all kinds of material needs for our children, for example—food, shelter, schooling, leisure, sports. And how often do we place those material needs before that one thing that they possess which will last forever—not just for 25 years, or 60, or 100 years, but forever—their soul, their eternal salvation, their attaining to the life of heaven, to the life of virtue.

How often do we forget to teach our children to live virtuous lives—lives of purity, courage, truth—not steeped in deceit, not steeped in exterior appearances, but in what is on the inside, on what is profound. Let us thank the Lord for those who have helped us to see beyond the exteriors, to go beyond the aspirations of material things, to the aspiration of holiness and drawing close to God. Those are the people that today we bow our heads before God and thank God for, just as Saint Paul did when he said, “I give thanks to my God always on your account.”

And so, my brothers and sisters, in today’s gospel, Jesus speaks of the ten lepers who are healed and restored to health. But only one of them comes back to give thanks to God. Let us not be like the other nine lepers who have received the miracles of God in our lives but fail to return to Him to give thanks. Of course, the Eucharist that we celebrate every day—the Mass—the word itself means thanksgiving, where we offer Jesus up to the Father as a sacrifice in atonement for our sins, by which we thank and glorify Him for His great mercy and love. We can participate in that thanksgiving every day.

But let’s make sure that we go on Sunday, and that we reserve that day in particular to the glory of God—to thanking Him, to drawing closer to Him who is the source of all the good things in our lives.

May Almighty God bless you, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.