Every Thanksgiving we are reminded to do for at least one day what should be a constant dimension of our spiritual life: Give Thanks. The prayer of thanksgiving is one of the major forms of prayer, along with adoration, reparation, intercession, and impetration (asking for what we need) to name some of the major categories of prayer.
This year, as always, we should count our blessings whoever we are and wherever we are. In the United States of America we should carefully and clearly think of what makes this country great, the essentials that were there from the beginning and that define what we are. By the same token, we should carefully, clearly, and courageously define what is not part of the true fabric of our nation’s very essence. Things that have become an everyday part of American life threaten to destroy the real country, the one the Founding Fathers founded on Christian principles. Anti-human realities such as abortion, euthanasia, fetal stem cell research, human cloning, pornography, and homosexual sexual relations—all of these are foreign to what this country is about and always was about. We should thank God for this, for if this were not true we would have ceased to exist long ago. God has to be first in our lives, not economic prosperity. If you are right with God, the economic factor will fall into place. If not, then greed, fraud, deceit, and every vice under the sun will rule. No one will trust the government, the corporate world, the professions, etc. The moral unraveling precedes the ultimate unraveling of a nation or a world. Chaos is the inevitable result, and death follows close behind.
Immorality is un-American, and a threat to national security. I said that right after 911, and it is more true than ever. In my lifetime I have experienced the moral erosion of our national consciousness. It’s as if large segments of the population had some portion of their brain removed or their eyes blinded. We should recall that all of the “old ways” are not inferior to some of the “new ways.” We must likewise recall that “God’s ways are not our ways. God’s ways are as far above our ways as the heavens are above the earth.” God can’t indeed write straight with crooked lines. He can bring good out of the worst evil, not that the evil should be accepted or countenanced, but when we’ve done all we can do to fight the evil, know that we haven’t lost. Jesus Christ is the “Lamb of God,” and “Prince of Peace” to be sure, but don’t ever forget that He is also “the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.” The violence and power with which God himself will confront and destroy the evil that threatens us far surpasses anything we could do.
So, this Thanksgiving “thank God for God!” God is in charge! Don’t forget that. God is all-good, all-merciful, all-loving, and all-powerful. He will fight the enemies of what is true and good. “If God is for you, who can be against you!” Thank God for your faith and your family, your health and your wealth—no matter how large or small. The spirit of thanksgiving makes a heavy heart lighter. It’ll clear your head of a thousand worries and concerns. One thing alone is important: your personal relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. If that is right you will be right. If that is right, the entire world can be sinking into hell under the weight of its sins and misery, you will fly above the turmoil, destined for the glory held in store for the sons and daughters of the Lord of the Universe.
Have a blessed and happy Thanksgiving!
Fr. John Corapi
SOLT (Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity) has found several vocations in our parish of St. Ignatius, for whom we pray, and are very grateful.
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