November 14, 2012 WBAS Topics Holidays, WBAS Topics Prayer, REL Seasons - Feast Days/Holidays, REL PD - Family Faith
By: Kathy Hendricks
Thanksgiving is just around the corner. I love a holiday that invites us to simply be content. Never mind that it has become laden with holiday sales events. On Thanksgiving, families and friends gather to share a meal packed with tradition. This might well include a prayer of blessing or, at least, a naming of gifts for which each person is grateful. Even if this is a once-a-year occurrence, it reminds us of the grace of gratitude. For a brief moment, we have an opportunity to consider what we have – here and now – and to recognize that it is enough.
As a spiritual practice, I can’t think of a better way to come in touch with God’s day-to-day presence than gratitude. When we pause to consider how we have been blessed, we cultivate a mindfulness of grace as the outpouring of God’s love. Done on a regular basis, the practice of gratitude slowly works its way into our spiritual core and shifts the way we perceive the world around us. Instead of wanting more, we become content with what is right before us. Over time, a grateful heart becomes softer and more compassionate. Gratitude spawns generosity. When we know we have been blessed, we are drawn to sharing our bounty with others.
Thus it makes sense to practice grace-giving around a Thanksgiving table laden with delicious food. Benedictine Brother David Steindl-Rast notes that we honor God “…by honoring God’s gifts, by cultivating and refining what we’re given and passing it onto others” (Music of Silence, page 62). This can make the day after Thanksgiving a new beginning of sorts. After being well-fed, we then reach out to those who are starving for food and resources, for warmth and shelter, for a kind word and a consoling presence. In such a way, our thanks-giving becomes a grace to share with others, thus creating a table of blessing at which all are welcome.
Bright Ideas
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Between now and Thanksgiving, initiate a daily practice of gratitude by yourself or with your family or students. Name something each day for which you are grateful. Bring this attitude of gratitude to Thanksgiving Day and share it with others.
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Visit Brother David Steindl-Rast’s website – www.gratefulness.org – and share a post about something for which you are thankful.
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Download my extended Prayer of Grace before Meals and use it as a reflection to enhance your practice of gratitude.
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