A Letter From Our Pastor: Are We Grateful for Our Blessings?

Dear Parish Family,

Raise your hand if you love mornings… not me — and especially when the morning begins what I know will be a challenging day. I recently began such a day with my morning prayers and a cup of hot coffee. I noticed that the fear and anxiety of the day were building into frustration and resentment. Happiness research says that gratitude and happiness go hand in hand — if we want to improve our happiness, we have only to take a little time for gratitude. So I opened my journal and wrote down five blessings that I had recently experienced. Almost immediately, my mood improved. I did it each morning and in less than a week, I started to feel like a whole different person. I may have even started to love mornings. Many people make time to be grateful before bedtime — I seem to need gratitude in the morning. Let’s take a couple minutes to reflect on all the ways the month of November can turn our hearts to gratitude.

November 1st is a Holy Day for All Saints, who are enjoying the happiness of Heaven and praying for our salvation. November 2nd we pause to remember All the Souls in Purgatory. Our parishes gather together to recall those who passed in the previous year. Though we are saddened by their passing, we are grateful for how their lives blessed us. We can bless them in return by giving them the gift of a plenary indulgence. All we have to do is visit a cemetery and pray for the dead any time between November 1st and the 8th (under the usual conditions of Confession, Communion, and prayers for the intentions of the Holy Father).

November 11th we honor and thank our Veterans who served in the United States Armed Forces in one capacity or another. Indicative of the importance of this day, every year at 11 a.m. Eastern, the President of the United States lays a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.

Judging by the number of people who tell me they pray best in a tree stand, opening day of deer hunting season must be a sort of day of prayer. What a great time to sit out in nature and marvel at the Creator and his marvelous creation!

Then on November 25th, we pause for a national day of Thanksgiving. It is a day that was based in faith from its very beginnings, and it is an indication of how much we have to thank God for in terms of the gifts we have received — our lives, our families, our Church, our Lord and Savior — everything we are and everything we have. With Advent starting on November 28, I want to encourage you to maintain a spirit of gratitude through the busy holiday season. Perhaps you could make time each day to list five things you are grateful for. Behind the gifts is a Giver who loves you and provides for your needs. Let us be grateful not only for all the good gifts but for the Good Giver Himself.

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. Joel Sember, Pastor

Fr. Joel Sember, Pastor