November 28: Thanksgiving Day
Monday, November 25, 2024
*Fr. Eduardo Barrios, SJ
The fourth Thursday of November is Thanksgiving Day, the most celebrated holiday in the United States. The holiday has also spread to many other countries around the world.
However, not everyone celebrates the same thing. The holiday has many levels. The most superficial is celebrated by those who thoughtlessly do what they see in the United States, a country much admired, although not always for its best values.
This Thursday also brings together relatives and friends who are not often in contact due to distance, time differences, and diverse lifestyles. There is nothing more pleasing than enjoying a special meal centered around a hot turkey fresh out of the oven, accompanied by traditional side dishes, and concluding with the classic pumpkin pie.
As for the menu, due to the influence of other cultures from migrations, there are those who season the turkey as if it were a pork shoulder or just prefer roast pork.
Some people pause to reflect on the fact that it is time to give thanks. People who give thanks come in different forms. Some give thanks for good luck. Others thank themselves for their ingenuity and good qualities, while narcissists go so far as to claim that "I have made myself."
There are also those who celebrate more profoundly, professing their faith in God not only as existing but as provident. For them, there is no good or bad luck, but rather the hand of God guiding their lives.
This act of faith includes an acknowledgement of their own helplessness and vulnerability. They confess that they cannot achieve anything good with their own means, but that with God's help they can make their way through life on the paths of goodness. They give thanks for the bitter and the sweet, relaying on the words of St. Paul: "All things work for good for those who love God" (Rom 8, 28).
For people of faith, every day of the year is Thanksgiving Day. Believers lift up their petitions to God when they are in need, and they also give thanks every day for all that they have already received.
Once supper has been served, instead of rushing to help oneself, have someone in the family say a prayer of thanksgiving, either of their own choosing or from a printed text. There are many biblical psalms of thanksgiving, the most important being Psalms 100, 107, 118, and 145, among many others.
Ideally, Catholics participate in the Eucharist on this day, remembering that the etymological meaning of Eucharist is, precisely, "Thanksgiving."
Finally, let us never forget that gratitude is the key to happiness, so much so that we might consider the terms: "thankful" and "happy" as synonyms. In other words, it is impossible to be ungrateful and dissatisfied, and yet be happy at the same time.
