Impediments to Gratitude: A Thanksgiving Reflection
This week, we in the United States celebrate Thanksgiving, a beautiful holiday on which we traditionally pause to thank God for the blessings we have received–especially family, friends, and nature’s bounty. I begin by wishing all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving! This wish is coupled with a big THANK YOU for reading this blog. And a thank you for your many comments which expand what I offer each week.
I thought it might be appropriate today to say a few words about thanksgiving or gratitude as seen on the Gospel. This reflection is based on the story of the Jesus’ cure of the ten lepers found in Lk. 17:11-19.
One day, as Jesus was entering a certain town, he was met by ten lepers who “stood at a distance from him.” They cried out, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” Jesus said to them, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” They did as he said, but on their way, they were all suddenly cured. But that’s not the end of the story. Of the ten lepers, only one eventually returned to Jesus, fell on his knees, and thanked him. Says Luke, “And he was a Samaritan.” This fact did not go unntoiced by Jesus. In fact he asked, “Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?” And to the man, he said, “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.”
It’s a short passage. Only nine verses. But there’s much food for thought here. For example, it’s easy for us to assume that if we had been one of those cured lepers, we certainly would have returned with the “foreigner” to say thank you. Right? Why didn’t the other nine lepers return? What could possibly have prevented them from doing the polite thing and say “thank you”? Here are some possible reasons I came up with. While doing so, I realized, “Sometimes I’m not so different from those nine lepers who didn’t give thanks.”
Reasons I didn’t return to give thanks:
1) I coudn’t find Jesus. He was always on the move. I didn’t know where to look.
2) I couldn’t afford the time. I had already wasted many years of my life debilitated by this awful disease. I couldn’t waste one precious minute of my new life in a posture of gratitude.
3) I wanted to put my leperous life behind me. Returning to give thanks would have reminded me of my terrible, desperate needs back then. I wanted to forget all that and move on.
4) Truth be told, I was afraid of this man Jesus. I figured, if he had such power to heal me, what other powers could he possess that might not be so benevolent towards me.
5) Jesus seemed to be a pretty sensitive guy. I figured he knew how grateful I was. I didn’t have to say the words. Besides, he was so busy.
6) I was afraid of what he would have asked of me as payment for this miraculous cure. No one bestows such a marvelus gift without demanding something big in return, not so?
7) I didn’t want to be associated with this Jesus guy. I had heard that the religious and political leaders were against him. Some even wanted him dead. I felt the safe thing to do was to keep my distance from him.
8) I began to doubt if it was Jesus who actually cured me. After all, he didn’t say any magic-holy words or touch me. In fact, I wasn’t even in his presence when I was healed. Who says I owe Jesus anything?
9) I forgot.
For reflection:
Those are nine reasons (excuses) for not giving thanks–not only to God, but to other people who bless us with gifts every day: our spouse, children, parents, grandchildren, friends, neighbors, the people we serve, the people who serve us, a co-worker, the clerk in the grocery store, etc. Can you find yourself in any of these excuses?
Can you come up with any other excuse we might have for not saying thank you? If so, can you share it with us below?
Why not make a list (even a mental one) of 5 things you are especially grateful for today. You might want to say “thank you” (text, quick call, in person) to someone who’s responsible for something on your list.
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PS: I will be making my annual retreat from Sunday, Nov. 30 to Sunday, Dec. 7. Could you please say a little prayer for me during this week? I worked ahead and so I will post a reflection as usual next Monday, Dec. 1. It will be an Advent reflection. Meanwhile, know that I will hold all of you in my prayer next week, thanking God for your unique and special presence in my life!
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For our video today I chose the old Thanksgiving Hymn “For the Beauty of the Earth,” here sung by Audrey Assad. Feel free to sing along.
I invite you to add your thoughts below. I love hearing from you!
Schedule a Humor Break
We schedule all kinds of things: A doctor’s appointment, a dental check-up, a trip to the grocery store, lunch with a friend, our housework, an oil change, and even a time to go to church. As important as these appointments are, there is another appointment that deserves our regular attention: a humor break. Hopefully, today’s “reflection” will provide such a break for you. Notice, I’m posting this humor break the week before Thanksgiving in case you want to lighten up the conversation around your Thanksgiving dinner table.
Let’s begin with animals… Can you guess which annimal would be good for these jobs?
1) A hotel bellhop?
2) A political consultant?
3) An acupuncturist?
4) A daycare provider?
Answers: 1) kangaroo, 2) hamster–he’s good at spinning, 3) porcupine 4) goat–she’s great with kids.
Okay, let’s hop along… Certainly we can do better than that…
A boy is sitting down with his parents for dinner. All three are holding their cellphones. Says the mother to her son, “Sammy, please text grace.”
From a middle school exam: Question: What is hard water? Student answer: Ice. (If you were the teacher, would you give that student any credit for that answer?)
A woman asked her travel agent: Can you make sure I don’t get a window seat on the plane, because I just had my hair done?
An actual newspaper headline in a Massachusetts paper: “Committee Appoints Committee to Appoint Committee.”
Back to animals… What are the collective nouns for these groups of animals?
What do you call a group of owls?… a group of sharks?… a group of hummingbirds? …giraffes?… rhinocerous?… hedgehogs or porcupines?… penguins?
Answers:
Owls: A parliament… sharks: a shiver… hummingbirds: a charm… giraffes: a tower… rhinocerous: a crash… hedgehogs or porcupines: a prickly… penguins: a colony… a waddle… or a raft.
(How many did you get right? Before I looked them up, I got ony 3 right: owls, rhinos, and penguins. I guessed a colony! I didn’t know about waddle or raft!)
November 8 was Pun Day. Sorry I’m late with these. Get ready to groan:
Police were called to a daycare where a three-year-old was resisting a rest.
Small babies may be delivered by a stork, but heavier ones need a crane.
I used to be a banker, but I lost interest.
A frantic woman tells her husband that moose are falling from the sky. The husband says, “No, it’s reindeer!”
“I need a pencil sharpener,” said Tom bluntly.
Need an ark? I noah guy.
Geology rocks, but geography is where it’s at!
Stay out of hot water when brewing a pun. It’s best to use subtle tea.
Words about advancing in age:
The older I get, the earlier it gets late.
At my age, “drink responsibly” means don’t spill it.
I had my patience tested. I’m negative.
By replacing potato chips with grapefruit you can lose 90% of what little joy you still have in life!
When you ask me what I am doing today, and I say “nothing,” it does not mean I am free. It means I am doing nothing.
When I ask for directions, please don’t use words like “east.”
Don’t bother walking a mile in my shoes. That would be boring. Spend 30 seconds in my head. That will really freak you out.
When you do squats, are your knees supposed to sound like a goat chewing on an aluminum can stuffed with celery?
My cardiologist’s diet for me: If it tastes good, spit it out.
Here’s something comedian Will Rogers said many, many, many years ago. Do you think it’s still true?
“We could certainly slow the aging process down if it had to work its way through Congress!”
Miscellaneous:
Some people eat snails. They must not like fast food.
What did the green grape say to the purple grape? “Breathe, man! Breathe!”
What’s the easiest way to get straight A’s? Use a ruler.
Which rock group has four guys who can’t sing or play any musical instruments? Mount Rushmore
Wife: I’ll admit I’m wrong if you admit I’m right.
Husband: Okay. You go first.
Wife: I’m wrong.
Husband: You’re right!
A man walks into a library and asks the librarian for books about paranoia. She whispers, “They’re right behind you!”
A man once said to Mark Twain, “I want to save my money, travel to Mt. Sinai, stand on that mountain, and read the 10 Commandments aloud.” Said Twain, “Why don’t you just stay home and live them!”
And last but not least: Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer you get to the end, the faster it goes!
For reflection:
Did you enjoy any of these?
Would you like to add a joke, pun, or funny remark below? I welcome your additions!
Here’s an “oldie but goodie” that some of you might remember: “High Hopes” sung by Frank Sinatra and some kids. Sing along if you remember the words!
I welcome your comments below!
“The Art of Pausing”
The Art of Pausing is a fascinating little book. The subtitle is Meditations for the Overworked and Overwhelmed. I thought, those words “overworked and overwhelmed” is how I feel at times. How about you? The book is essentially a collection of 99 haikus written by three authors “who inhabit very different worlds.” Brother Paul Quentin is a Trappist monk at Gethsemani. He’s a talented writer and photographer. Michael Bever, a retired educator, is an ordained Disciple of Christ minister “who was drawn later in life to Catholic traditions.” And last, there’s Judith Valente, a broadcast journalist for PBS-TV, writer, and retreat leader. Happenstance brought them together and they began exchanging haikus. Eventually they decided to write a book together, a book of haikus based on the 99 names of God referred to in sacred texts.
I’d like to share three of their haikus with you. They all follow the classic English-language haiku: three lines of five, seven, and five syllables. The first haiku, by Judith Valente, focuses on “God, the Designer”:
Neutrons seek protons
they hold the world together
for what, if not love?
Valente says that what she finds fascinating is “how all things, from protons to planets, collaborate, like the components of a perfectly calibrated watch.” She likes to think that “it is the universe’s love for us that holds things together in such a delicate balance.” As for me, I like to think that everytime I am attracted to someone (a friend, a stranger, a tree, a puppy) or something (a poem, an ocean, a concerto, a pizza) I am participating in the great dynamic of seeking–a seeking which permeates the universe–a seeking which eventually leads us to one another and ultimately to God, the Greatest Seeker of them all!
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The second haiku, by Michael Bever, is entitled “God, the All-Aware.”
Redbud branch in breeze
pale enticing afternoon
erases thinking.
Bever says there are many forms of prayer: the liturgy, the recitation of the psalms, the rosary, to name a few. But some people, like Thomas Merton, believed that the deepest prayer “needs no verbiage.” He maintained that there is so much talking that is “utterly useless. It is in the sky, the sea, the redwoods that you will find answers.” Says Bever, “I am grateful for those lazy afternoons when I can slow down long enough to notice a redbud tree’s branches swaying in the wind. A time of thinking about not thinking.”
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The third poem is by Brother Paul Quenon, OCSO. It focuses on the day in Jesus’ life when the religious elders brought him a woman caught in the act of adultery. It’s called “God the Utterly Just”:
At a cruel moment
Jesus stooped, scrawled in dust
Best haiku ever—
Says Brother Paul, “To this day, no one knows exactly what Jesus wrote.” Whatever it was, it was enough “to send the crowd slinking away.” Brother Paul sometimes imagines that “Jesus wrote a short poem, perhaps even haiku-like, that struck at the heart of our human propensity for condemnation and judgment.” Jesus’ simple gesture has the power “to open up a wider vision of the world–one shaped by forgiveness and a divine judgment utterly new to our understanding.”
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For reflection:
Did any of these haikus speak to you? Is so, which one and why?
Have you ever had experiences that “erase thinking”? Describe one of those experiences and how you felt afterwards.
Do you think God is the “Greatest Seeker of them all”? If so, what leads you to believe that? If not, what leads you not to believe that?
I invite you to try your hand at writing a haiku below. It can be about anything you want. And it doesn’t have to be perfect. When I taught high school, I’d sometimes make myself do the assignments I gave my students–to remind myself of how challenging an assignment could be for my students. So I thought I would do this suggested “assignment” I just gave you! Here’s my haiku:
“Blogging”
Hard work coupled with
the Spirit’s inspiration:
joy-filled partnership.
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PS: A BIG thank you for all you planned and attended and prayed for the “SHINE Women’s Summit” in Toledo, Ohio last Thursday, sponsored by the Sisters of Notre Dame. This year’s event, with the theme of creativity, honored five women in the area who S – support, H – honor, I- inspire, N – nurture, and E- empower others in a wide variety of ways: as art educators, media experts, advocates for the performing arts, professionals at the Toledo Museum of Art, and internationlly recognized artists. I was privileged to be one of the panelists who shared ideas on the importance of creativity in our lives. I came away from the event inspired, encouraged, and with a deep sense of renewed hope! Special thanks to the Advancement Office staff–especially Kerri–and the three SND’s who provided me with their gracious hospitality, Carol, Sally, and Karel.
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Michael Bever spoke about wordless prayer. So today’s music video (5 min.) has no words. And there are no lovely nature pictures in the background to “distract” you from the piano solo. There’s only pure pure sound… pure music… pure song. In this case it’s Chopin’s “Nocturne in E Flat Major (Op. 9, No. 2). You might be fascinated by “seeing the sound”on the video. I know I was… or you might want to close your eyes and just let the pure sound enter into yourself…
I invite you to respond to this blog below. I hope a few of you will write your very own haiku… don’t be shy…
The Geauga Faith Rescue Mission
Two weeks ago, I attended the annual fund-raiser for the Geauga Faith Rescue Mission. This organization, founded in 2014, is a non-profit, faith-based housing program for men and women that provides a “safe and structured living environment while assisting our residents into stability.” It opened its men’s shelter in Chardon in November 2022. Early on, the Sisters of Notre Dame have supported this mission in various ways: serving on the board, providing dinner every Friday evening at the men’s shelter, volunteering to make dessert every Friday, writing letters to the men at the shelter, and hosting their annual fundraiser in our auditorium which other volunteers transform into a Banquet Hall. (NOTE: Geauga [pronounced Jee – AWE – ga] is an Onondaga or Seneca word meaning “raccoon.” It was the original name of the Grand River in Ohio.)
I was very impressed by this fund-raising event–especially by the hundreds of people in attendance, mostly our neighbors in the county. After a delicious dinner (served by volunteers from a local organization called “Acts 6”), we listened to an array of speakers and viewed some short videos that explained the work of the mission in greater detail. Let me list a few facts and experiences that touched me.
1) Many local churches support the Mission: United Methodist Church, Cornerstone Bible Church, Christian Fellowship Church, St. Mary Catholic Church, Grace Evangelical Church, to name a few. Other supportive organizations include: JL Taylor Electric Company, Paterson Farms, O’Reilly Equipment, Silco, INC, the Knights of Columbus, St. Vincent de Paul Society, Enzo Co., Resident Artists, Universal Windows, and many “anonymous friends.” These people are all united in their desire to help our neighbors in crisis–especially with homelessness.
2) Geauga County is a beautiful semi-rural county with quaint towns such as Middlefield, Burton, and Chardon. Its rolling hills are dotted with farms as well as newer developments, some with large expensive homes. We don’t see homeless people on our streets or standing at traffic lights holding signs. But we, like virtually all communities, have people who are homeless in our midst: sleeping on a friend’s couch, living in an uncle’s garage, camping out in the woods, or living in their cars.
3) The Mission has only one paid full-time employee: Nathan Long, Executive Director, a dynamic and faith-filled man. It also has two part-time employees. Everyone else–many with impressive credentials–volunteer their time in various capacities.
4) As I looked around the large room, I sensed that those of us attending the dinner were diverse with regard to age, religion, economic status, and politics. But we were united in our deep concern for individuals in need. And we all wanted to help in whatever way we could.
5) Interesting note: Geauga county is home to 26,000 Amish, especially in the Middlefield area. They have formed an organization called NOAH (North Ohio Assisting Hands) which helps with disaster relief and community services. One day a group of about 20 Amish men arrived at the one-story women’s shelter and put on the back porch, the second floor, and a roof—all in a single working day! A professional video-photographer (donating his time and skills too!) made a time-laspe video of that achievement. At the end of this reflection, I’ve provided the address for GFRMission website which includes that video. I hope you have time to watch it. It takes less than a minute and is fascinating!
6) At the dinner, we saw other videos featuring men whose lives have been turned around by the Mission. In addition, one of the speakers at the fund-raiser was Jesse, a current guest at the Mission. He shared his personal story with us, a story that made homelessness personal and real. It was uplifting to hear from these men who have been helped in many ways.
At the end of the fund-raiser, the mission naturally asked for financial assistance. They showed a chart that listed things like this: if we had 20 people who could give $5 a month, we would raise $1200; if we had 20 people who could give $10 a month, we would raise $2400; if we had 10 people who could give $500 a year, we would raise $5,000… and on and on the list went.Their financial director, Paul Mysyk, told this amazing story. The Mission owed $104,000 on their loan to purchase the house for the men’s shelter. One day on their bank statement they saw this: – $104,000. What was that minus sign doing there? They assumed there had been a mistake, but when they met with the bank they learned an anonymous donor had paid off the entire mortgage! Whoever it was, did this at another branch of the bank to preserve his/her/their anonymity. To me this generous donation showed how someone(s) with considerable means really appreciated what the Geauga Faith Rescue Mission was doing for our local community!
In short, that evening at the fund-raiser dinner I learned anew: 1) Small can be beautiful and effective. 2) There are many people around us with loving and generous hearts. 3) All communities have individuals in need, our “neighbors.” And 4) working together with others, we can do remarkable Christ-like deeds for our neighbor.
For reflection:
Is there anything in this story of the Geauga Faith Rescue Mission that caught your attention?
Have you ever worked with a diverse group in regard to age, religion, economic status, or politics in order to help others in need?
Are there other worthy organizations that you or your parish support through volunteer work, financial contributions, or prayer? I would love to hear about these! Please share some of them below.
Here is the website for the Geauga Faith Rescue Mission: https://www.gfrmission.org The first video, with one of their guests, explains the Mission. Scroll down to the second video after the pictures of the women’s shelter being built. Click on that video for the time-lapse photography of the Amish men building the structure of the women’s shelter in a single day.
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PS: A big THANK YOU to the parishioners of the Church of the Resurrection in Solon, Ohio who came to my talk on “Mary, Woman of Hope and One of Us” last Monday evening. I was truly edified that so many “showed up” to hear a one-hour presentation on Mary. Thank you for your eagerness, attentiveness, and your faith! Special thanks to Sister Susan for inviting me and for taking care of all of the details!
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I found a short song entitled “Love God, Love Our Neighbor” by Dale Sechrest. It’s a simple refrain repeated three times. The refrain gets to the heart of Jesus’ teaching… It is the underlying reason why the Geauga Faith Rescue Mission was founded… why the board and staff are working so hard… why so many people support the mission… why 20 Amish men donated their skills and labor for a day… why so many people attended the fund raiser… and why so many continue to pray for the success of this small faith-based organization in the heart of Geauga County.
(Disclaimer: I am recommending only the video posted here and NOT necessarily the other videos that pop-up automatically after this video.)
I hope you might leave a comment below:
When Have You Felt Set Free?
Have you ever felt like a bird in a cage? If so, have you ever felt set free from your cage? I suggest you reflect on this experience in your life. To help you do that, here are some examples from my own life when I felt set free. Some go way back.
Learning to print my name all by myself. (That capital S was so hard!)
Getting off the school bus on the last day of school before summer vacation and skipping up our long driveway and into the house.
Making up with my little girlfriend after some spat we had.
Walking out of the confessional.
Being accused of cheating in fourth grade (I didn’t do it, honest!) and being made to stay in during recess and “discuss the matter” with Mrs. Farrar and explaining (through my tears) that I had not cheated honest! and being believed by her and being told to go outside with the other kids who were anxiously waiting on the playground to hear if I had been found innocent or guilty of the crime.
Turning 16 and coming out of the BMV with my very own temporary driver’s license and Mom handing me the car keys.
Graduating from college.
Getting my first classroom (Notre Dame Academy, now NDCL, room 104) and being able to design my own bulletin boards and to decide where to put my teacher’s desk and how to arrange all the kids’ desks (within certain perameters, of course.)
Realizing that some of the changes made by Vatican II had opened windows I didn’t even realize were shut and feeling a gentle breeze on my face.
Life-giving friendships.
Good books, good movies, good music–too numerous to list.
Jesus was big on freedom. But freedom for Jesus was not the “do whatever you want to do” kind. It was more the “do what you ought” kind or “do the loving thing” kind. Look at Matthew 25. It challenges us to ask, “How free am I to feed the hungry…give drink to the thirsty… welcome the stranger… care for the sick… visit someone in prison?” Look at Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan. Was there ever a freer guy than that Samaritan? In the parable of the Prodigal Son, who is freer: the forgiving father or the resentful older brother? And who was freer than Jesus himself–even when he was hanging on the cross?!
But an important question to ask is this: what is our freedom FOR? To answer that question I go back to my scripture course at Duquense University (1980-1) taught by my dear friend, Fr. Demetrius Dumm, OSB. He stressed to us that freedom is the gift that we use to help others become more free. Years later I found this quote by Toni Morrison, who obviously agrees with Fr. Demetrius: “The function of freedom is to free somebody else.” Good parents are using their gift of freedom to help their children grow in freedom. Good teachers use their freedom to bestow knowledge and skills that will help their students grow in freedom. Good friends use their freedom to help each other be freed from potenial “demons” that can restrict true freedom–such as self-preoccupation, fear, pride, apathy, hopelessness.
To aid in your reflection on this vital concept of freedom, I will close with four quotations that have helped me over the years.
“Freedom is nothing else but a chance to be better.” Albert Camus
Obedience to God means more freedom, for it “lifts the burden of perpetual choice.” Evelyn Underhill
“The young monk asked the Master: ‘How can I ever get emancipated?’
The Master answered: ‘Who has ever put you in bondage?'” A Zen Story
“The big question of freedom is: How do you let the goodness out?” Thomas Merton
For reflection:
Have you ever had an experience of being set free? What was that experience like for you?
Have you ever felt that you helped someone else be set free? How did that experience feel for you?
Does anything in this reflection stand out for you today?
This Saturday is the Feast of All Saints. (This year, since it falls on a Saturday it is not a holy day of obligation.) On this day we honor the thousands of saints that the Church has canonized over the centuries. In honor of this feast, I have chosen a beautiful Litany of the Saints that celebrates only a few of our saints (4:32 mins.) The Litany of the Saints is traditionally sung on Holy Saturday at the Easter Vigil. Some of the names you’ll be familiar with. But with other names you may be asking, “Who’s that?” Feel free to add your favorite saint if he or she is not included. The Saints are a diverse group of people. When it comes to sanctity, one size does not fit all. But one thing the saints share in common is this: they were FREE to love and serve God and others in their unique circumstances, by using the particular gifts God had given them. This video was made by Michella Sherliza.
(Disclaimer: I am recommending only the video “Freedom.” I am not necessarily recommending the other videos that appear after this one. Discretion is advised.)
I enthusiastically invite you to share a thought or two below.
