Thanksgiving….A good time to ask myself, what am I thankful for?

Even better, whom should I thank on this 4th Thursday in November?

Often it looks like it’s a person who deserves our thanks.  Sometimes we think circumstance gets the credit.  Yet ultimately, everything we have is a gift from God.  Even who we are is a gift from God. God uses people and situations to bring His gifts to us.  He alone is the Great Gift-giver. It is good to know Who to thank.

Today, we gather for the Thanksgiving Day as a sign of our love and gratitude to the Almighty God.  We remember the reasons to be thankful – our freedoms, our families, our parents, our spouse, our children, our friends, our homes, our jobs, our clothes, our stuff, our health, our life itself and the many gifts we have received from God– although our lists may be different our feelings are the same.  We should also take time to thank our brothers and sisters who have served our country and thank the brave citizens who continue to serve our nation.  They are the reason we can celebrate this holiday.

As we prepare for this day of thanksgiving, we pause to reflect on all of our blessings and successes.  Thank you for the great job we do everyday.

Let us not forget, however, to include a special thank you to our families, relatives, friends, and people whom we loved. We want to also thank all of our wonderful parishioners who dedicate their time and resources, talents, abilities and God-given gifts they shared with their fellowmen and women.

We praise God for this Thanksgiving Day, for the abundant blessings and mercies He has poured forth upon us, for the greatest gift of life He has given us.  May God continue to bless our country as a refuge for people from all corners of the earth and from every faith. May He strengthens us in our trials and held us up in the face of adversity. He has granted us this beautiful and bountiful land, filled with the fruits of freedom, worship, and hard work.

In this harvest time, as we gather together on the table with our family and friends, we give thanks to our Lord, the giver of life. May this be a reminder for us to be humble in our abundance and to remember the sacrifice of our forefathers. May their example inspire us to be generous and hospitable to others especially the needy and poor of our communities.

Dear Lord, please send Your grace upon those who are not with us at this Eucharistic table, especially those serving our country, and grant them the comfort of Your love.  Thank You Lord.

Solemnity of Christ The King

We celebrate the Feast of Christ the King, on the fourth sunday of November, every year. On this day, the Scripture readings remind us about what sort of Kingdom Jesus came to establish.

The Feast of Christ the King was established by Pope Pius XI in 1925 as an antidote to secularism, a way of life which leaves God out of man’s thinking and living and organizes his life as if God did not exist. The feast is intended to proclaim in a striking and effective manner Christ’s royalty over individuals, families, society, governments, and nations.

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Today’s Mass establishes the titles for Christ’s royalty over men:

1) Christ is God, the Creator of the universe and hence wields a supreme power over all things; “All things were created by Him”;

2) Christ is our Redeemer, He purchased us by His precious Blood, and made us His property and possession;

3) Christ is Head of the Church, “holding in all things the primacy”;

4) God bestowed upon Christ the nations of the world as His special possession and dominion.

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Today’s Mass also describes the qualities of Christ’s kingdom.

This kingdom is:

1) supreme, extending not only to all people but also to their princes and kings;

2) universal, extending to all nations and to all places;

3) eternal, for “The Lord shall sit a King forever”;

4) spiritual, Christ’s “kingdom is not of this world”.

Lets hail our king and praise Him in every way we can. Amen.

Today is World Friendship Day… Happy Friendship Day to all my readers.

Friendship Day is celebrated on the first sunday of August , every year all over the world.

The tradition of dedicating a day in honor of friends began in US in 1935. In 1935 American Govt had killed a person on 1st Saturday of Aug. The next day his friend committed suicide in his memory.Since then American Govt declared 1st Sunday of Aug as friendship day.

Gradually the festival gained popularity and today Friendship Day is celebrated in large number of countries. On this day people spend time with their friends and express love for them. Exchange of Friendship Day Gifts like flowers, cards and wrist bands is a popular tradition of this occasion.

The United States Congress, in 1935, proclaimed the first Sunday of August as National Friendship Day. Since then, celebration of National Friendship Day became an annual event. The noble idea of honoring the beautiful relationship of friendship caught on with the people and soon Friendship Day became a hugely popular festival.

We all will love to send some friendship cards to our dearest friends today. See the 20 pictures given above which will be ideal as friendship cards.