Happy Thanksgiving Day

We celebrated Mass this morning for Thanksgiving Day, and were joined by many American friends and parishioners. After many enquiries last year, we gladly agreed to this year's celebration.

I have always thought Thanksgiving Day a lovely feast; a time when, as a nation and as individuals, Americans step back from the business and conerns of daily life, to reckon up their blessings, and give thanks to God.

Giving thanks is something that, by and large, we are not good at. We are particularly bad at it where God is concerned. Yet it is important to do - not merely as a matter of politeness, but for a healthy relationship with God. If we only ever ask God for things, or beg his forgiveness, our relationship will be characterised by distance, emphasising his difference and distance from us. We must also bring thanksgiving into our prayer, for it lightens the load, and allows us to stand tall before God - something he very much wants to happen!