Because Thanksgiving Day is this week, I would like to pause in relating
Kathy's Rosary Story, and will continue it again later.
We all need to take special time to consider ALL of those things for
which we can and should be grateful. No matter what our crosses are; no matter what hard luck we have
had; no matter what loved ones we have lost, or health conditions we possess, we all have much for
which to be grateful to God.
At Medjugorje Our Blessed Mother said: "Everything you have is a gift
from God."
I think of that many times in even very ordinary actions of the day.
Whether I am driving a car, paying bills, putting on a coat in cold weather, I remember, by the grace of
God, that I have everything because God has given them as gifts.
I am grateful to God for the sufferings of my life, as well, because
there are some graces we would never receive, if it were not for suffering. Suffering molds us; it
teaches us to be kinder to others and more patient. Suffering makes us more like Our Lord and shortens our
purgatory. Suffering is redemptive. We actually participate with Jesus in saving souls, when we
unite our sufferings with His.
These are truths that Dr. Kervorkian has never understood.
With humility as the foundation of our gratitude, we can acknowledge that
all good things come to us from God. It would follow, then, that joy would well up in our hearts.
God has done so many good things for us! Thank you, God! A grateful heart is a happy heart. Real and
sincere joy is ours when we are grateful to God for what we have.
We cannot express our gratitude enough. Surely to do so only on
Thanksgiving Day is to waste so many other days in thoughtlessness. Every day we should express our
gratitude to God. But Thanksgiving Day should be a special time to do so.
Going to Mass is not a requirement on Thanksgiving Day, but it would be a
perfect way to thank God for all of His gifts. If that is not possible, then we can at least take
a few separate moments to heartfeltly express our gratitude to our Eternal Father.
Let's be like the one person cured of leprosy that came back to say
"Thank you!" to Jesus for curing Him. God knows who the grateful are. Remember He said: "Were not
ten cured? Where are the other nine?"
For all that God has given me and done for me, I publicly and heartfeltly
thank Him. I thank Him for you, also. For without you, dear reader, there would be no one to read
what God has given me to write.
Have a holy, happy, and very grateful Thanksgiving Day!
God bless you and yours!