To begin, let me extend my wishes for a blessed Thanksgiving to you and your family and friends! Isn't it fitting that the United States proclaims a day each year to be set aside for giving thanks for all we have been given? While our consumer culture has rendered this most needed of holidays to "Black Friday Eve", certainly we can still take a few precious moments and express gratitude.
In the Catholic Liturgy, the priest says, "Let us give thanks to the Lord, our God." The congregation responds, "It is right and just" or, in Spanish, "Es justo y necesario." Why is it so important to give thanks? As Saint Francis teaches, it is in giving that we receive. If we give thanks, what is it that we receive? Among other things, I think we receive peace. Perhaps this seems a bit strange to say, given that strife is so prevalent in the world today. Yet, as today's Gospel reading reminds us, the conflicts of today are not new. As Jesus approached the holy city of Jerusalem (whose very name signifies peace), our Lord wept. Then He proceeds to offer this prophetic message: Would that even today you knew the things that make for peace! But now they are hid from your eyes. For the days shall come upon you, when your enemies will cast up a bank about you and surround you, and hem you in on every side. (Lk 19:42-43) Sounds a lot like current affairs, especially given the recent hostilities between Israel and Hamas, doesn't it?
In the twenty centuries since Jesus uttered these words, humanity has searched, in vain, for a worldly peace. For the great majority, "the things that make for peace" are still hidden. Yet we know experientially what they are not. Pride does not make for peace. Pride takes many forms, but in the end it can be rendered down most simply to a refusal to act in accordance to God's will for us. It is to reject the plans the Lord has, for our welfare; plans for a hopeful future. (Jer 29:11) Just yesterday, I was mocked by some of my more "progressive" classmates for speaking out against a professor who stated, in all sincerity, that the term abortion should be replaced by the deliberately misleading phrase "voluntary interruption of pregnancy." I was labeled an elitist, hateful of women, ignorant of the grave difficulties in deciding whether to carry a pregnancy to term. I was saddened by this response, but not for my sake; Jesus forewarned that the world would hate those who proclaim the Truth (see Jn 15:17-25). My sadness was more like that of Jesus looking at the people of Jerusalem. My heart breaks for all who lack that inner peace, the peace that this world SIMPLY CANNOT OFFER.
Nevertheless, I am abundantly joyful and thankful on this morning. For the words of Max Ehrmann's "Desiderata" ring true: be at peace with God...and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its shams, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy. And, once more, we have the benediction of Jesus Christ to enlighten our way: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (Jn 14:27) I am thankful most of all that God has revealed His mercy to me, a great sinner. My hope is that my gratitude and His mercy might shine through all that I say, write and do, so that my life might glorify our God.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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