The following comes from a short story by Anton Chekhov: There once was a wealthy Russian Matron– demanding, impatient, dismissive to the point of cruelty in the way she treated her maid servant. One day, in a particularly angry and condescending mood, the matron snaps at the young woman as usual. This time, however, she focuses on the girl’s eyes and realizes for the first time the deep humility–the depth of the servant’s unconditional care for the older woman. The matron bursts into to tears. She cries out, “How is it you care for me? I have not shown you the slightest kindness. How is it that you take my abuse time and time again? I am undone!” The matron sits at her desk and sobs uncontrollably, waving the maid away. Chekhov leaves us there. What will happen next? Will any good come of it this encounter or will all go back to the way things were?
Human Nature is filled with contradictions. Often, we are BLIND TO GRACE. Yes, even we disciples get caught up in our own drives, our own priorities, our own needs. We take others for granted. Tempted to believe we are above the common fray; we think we are not like others. We fancy ourselves “superior specimens.” In frivolous moments it may be fun to think that even God could learn a thing or two from us! But should we fully believe that, should we think that our achievements are all that matter in this world, or that beyond our personal comfort, nothing matters, nothing is worth striving for– we are in a bad state. It is called SIN. We are prone to it. It enervates us, makes us fatigued. We live for ourselves without a quest, a greater good, a greater Truth to inspire us. This is why the Mass begins with the Confiteor, or Penitential Rite. This is why the phrase “have mercy on us” is included in the Gloria we pronounce every Sunday. Our souls cannot move into Sacred Space without self-scrutiny for the love of God. And it is because we are loved by God that we trust our failings are forgiven and hope becomes eternal.
Sadly, there are those among us who adopt a different worldview. Oozing arrogance, they stain their souls with overindulgence. They take their delusions of grandeur all too seriously, regarding no one worthy of their time beyond those who serve their purposes and priorities. Often bitter and vengeful, they succumb to the deadliest of the Seven Deadly Sins: Pride beyond the need for relationships, beyond self-scrutiny, beyond the give and take of forgiveness, beyond God.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus stands before such a person. His name is Pilate. Notice the extraordinary contrast between one man and the other. Pilate is cynical. Pilate is bored and bothered. Pilate believes he can afford to be thus, because, after all, he is Caesar’s regent. He has legions of armies behind him.
Jesus on the other hand stands alone, seemingly powerless before this earthly judge. Yet take note of Jesus’ confidence, his self-awareness, his courage to speak TRUTH to Pilate who cannot imagine TRUTH to be POWER. The Truth that Jesus speaks: Life is rooted in the Absolute Goodness of God. Only belief in God, God’s patience, God’s mercy, God’s Justice, and God’s care for creation bring fullness of life. God’s Holy Spirit empowers courage in us to wage against the falsehoods, the evils of this world. Jesus embodies those Truths and invites us to incarnate them, too. Trust in ourselves and in our illusions, well, then our potential for building strong character, our strivings for heaven are lost. Trust in God, in Christ, and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, then Prudence, Temperance, Justice, and Courage deliver us into the Kingdom Jesus inaugurated. A kingdom where Faith, Hope, and Love reign eternally.
Pilate does not see this. He does not see Jesus as Jesus is meant to be seen. If he did, he might have noticed Jesus’ compassion and care—yes, care, even for Pilate. He would have seen himself as a lost sheep, recognize his arrogance as his false self — a camouflage for his inner fear and confusion, compelling him to avoid the good, the right, the virtuous and take the easy way out –giving in the manic cries of a crowd who could not see what they were becoming, the temptations to which they succumbed. Alas, neither they nor Pilate took the time for self-scrutiny, for he became their spokesman in the way he scoffs Jesus. Jesus said, “Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate’s cynical response: “What is truth?”
Happily, we are not celebrating Pilate today. We are worshiping Jesus as Christ and True King, the only TRUE Messiah. Jesus does not compromise eternal verities. Jesus abides in universal, absolute, and necessary Truths that alone offer human fulfillment. Jesus knows too well what Pilate represents–a world that sees no end but its own ends. A world that hides behind delusions of grandeur, manipulating Justice to its own ends.
Today we acknowledge, once again, Christ the King as the only one worthy of the title. We pray that in the presence of temptation, we will not forsake truth, even amid confrontation and conflict. BUT WE WILL FORSAKE EASY WAYS OUT OF DIFFICULT SITUATIONS. We pray to strengthen one another in building character– not compromising our true self – because we do not have to! Jesus is Christ, Lord, and Our God and He is here to help.
How can we make THANKSGIVING a truly prayerful AND joyful day for everyone? Here are suggestions — you cannot possibly observe them all! — but use them as a springboard for your own ideas. Choosing between these activities needs to be a prayerful experience, so allow some space for quiet time, placing all your anticipated guests in your heart and mind before you look through these selections. Pray with them and let your own spirit be inspired!
THE WEEK BEFORE THANKSGIVING
Invite your guests to reflect upon these Two Questions:
What is your best and worst memory of Thanksgiving?
How might you turn both experiences into a prayer for this year? Write your own prayer.
Invite your guests to write their answers on an index card or postcard (or in an email) for their own personal reflection as they anticipate Thanksgiving Day. And- IF THEY ARE COMFORTABLE DOING SO – have them bring their card or printed email to the dinner. Let your guests know that you will invite everyone to share what they wrote as people gather, partake in Hors D’oeuvres, and settle in for the day.
DINNER CONVERSATION option # 1. Throughout the meal, each person will be asked to take what they wrote as their BEST OF MEAL and answer one of the following:
FOR CHRISTIANS: How were these “Best of Thanksgiving Meals” like or unlike a Eucharist or Lord’s Supper?
FOR JEWS: How were these “Best of Thanksgiving Meals” like or unlike Passover or Sukkot meals?
FOR MUSLIMS: How were these “Best of Thanksgiving Meals” like or unlike Ramadan meal celebrations?
FOR SIKHS: How were these “Best of Thanksgiving Meals” like or unlike Langar?
FOR HINDUS: How were these “Best of Thanksgiving Meals” for Thanksgiving like or unlike ONAM?
FOR BUDDHISTS: How were these “Best of Thanksgiving Meals” like or unlike your New Year celebrations?
FOR SECULARISTS: What makes your “Best of Thanksgiving Meals” linger in your memory? What does it tell you about what you value?
After everyone has shared, ask “What insights might you have gained from listening to people’s answers?” At the end of the meal, invite Spontaneous Prayer or lead your guests in a Thanksgiving Prayer from your tradition.
2. DINNER CONVERSATION option # 2. Invite your guests to read (or listen to the YouTube audio of) Truman Capote’s poignant and humorous short story The Thanksgiving Visitor before Thanksgiving Day. Let them know you will be inviting them to share their thoughts and feelings about this story throughout dinner. The story takes place in the past, but the relationship dynamics are perennial. Truman Capote reads “The Thanksgiving Visitor” on YouTube:
Make this an AFTER-DINNER ACTIVITY: Gather your guests to read or listen to The Thanksgiving Visitor – or any short story or children’s book–and discuss it. For Children’s Books, see The Best Thanksgiving Books to Read Aloud – Bookshop.org
3. OPTIONAL CHARITABLE COMPONENT TO THANKSGIVING DAY:INVITE each guest to BRING A SINGLE $ 1. BILL to participate in a PLEASE & THANK YOU GAME. Designate a charity and let them know what the dollars are for in advance. OR before dinner begins, have people choose the charity among three or four (no more than 4) you suggest. (E.G. A local Food Pantry, UNICEF, Habitat for Humanity – nothing partisan or controversial.) Have extra $1. bills around for those who forget to bring any. From the beginning of the Meal to its conclusion, should anyone forget to say “Please” or “Thank You,” (i.e., “Please pass the potatoes” or “thank you for pouring my drink”), he or she gets a WARNING. The SECOND TIME he or she must surrender their dollar into a basket for charity. At the end of the day, people may contribute additional $ if they wish.
4. Invite your guests to memorizeOVER THE RIVER & THROUGH THE WOODS by Lydia Maria Child in preparation for Thanksgiving and let them know you will have a contest as to who can recite (OR SING) the first three verses by heart. People can access the poem online at Over the River and Through the Wood – Wikipedia (or get the Book out from their library, or purchase it). If they prefer, they can memorize the much shorter poem THE MIST AND ALL by DIXIE WILLSON – Poetry Explorer – Your Free Poetry Website for Classic and Contemporary Poetry OR any other Autumn / Thanksgiving Poem they would like to share. People can recite their poem during dessert or help each other with the verses throughout CLEAN UP.
6. Prepare a Card Table with Index Cards & pens or pencils, a Small Basket or Shoebox and a poster or placard on which you have written these instructions:
Welcome! Take a card and write your response to ONE of the following questions. Do NOT print your name on the card as guests will need to guess “who wrote what” later today.
— “What experience of the past year do I treasure most?”
— “What gift that I received this year (no matter the occasion) continue to bring me enjoyment?”
Place these “Treasured Gift” papers in a small basket or shoebox and place it on or near the dining table. During the first course, invite someone to pick an index card at random from the basket and read it aloud. All the guests try to guess the identity of the author.
THE DAY BEFORE THANKSGIVING
• Set DVR to pre-record Thanksgiving Day parade(s) and Football Games; pre-record or purchase/rent CHARLIE BROWN THANKSGIVING or other cartoons. People can watch them during breaks or after dinner and clean-up is over.
Get Access to Music Ready via CD, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube (See item IX below)
If you chose to sponsor the Please and Thank You Game Charity Game, have extra $1. bills handy for those who forgot to bring any.
PRINTOUT A FEELING CHART FOR EACH GUEST. You can distribute copies to everyone as they sit at the table for your first course as a way to PREPARE for your PRAYER. The prayer will begin by acknowledging how everyone at your table is feeling –elated, sorrowful, etc. –an essential way to honor people and emphasize your care for them and invite them to ponder the love of a caring God. See THANKSGIVING DAY Item # 2 BELOW for the “how” and “why” of this Feeling-centered exercise.
A. If you have chosen to engage in “The Treasured Gift” game– Direct your guests to the CARD TABLE. If you did not choose to have people write their “Best” and “Worst” Thanksgiving Memories and Prayer in advance, you could have them write them out now and follow the directions in DINNER CONVERSATIN # 1 above.
B. If you did not choose to have people write their “Best” and “Worst” Thanksgiving Memories and Prayer in advance, you could have them write them out now and follow the directions in DINNER CONVERSATIN # 1 above.
2. TRADITIONAL GRACE “PLUS” – The “+” includes Faith Sharing before the meal. Begin by distributing copies of the Feeling Chart to your guests as they are seated for dinner.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR ALL: EXPLAIN that the purpose in asking people to claim a feeling–and to name it for others to hear–provides us with a way to express our care for one another and respect our differences through attentive listening. The emphasis is on listening so we may address what we hear by way of acknowledging our feelings in our Prayer before our Meal. We ask that no one comment on any one person’s feeling words for there are no right or wrong feelings. “We feel what we feel no matter what the holiday may or may not mean to us.” Feel free to “pass” if you are not comfortable naming what you feel, but we hope you will.
Using the Chart as a guide, each guest may identify one or two “Feeling Words” (“Happy,” “Sad,” “Thankful,” “Frustrated,” etc.). We ask that NO ONE EXPLAIN their choice of word(s). That qualification is VERY IMPORTANT or the prayer before the meal will become unruly. Ask that NO ONE COMMENT on another’s feelings. Should someone start to explain, tell them they can share later, but “please only one or two words” After all of your guests have identified their feelings, pray the following (or use these ideas to create a prayer of your own):
“Dear God, HERE WE ARE! We are family and friends — and we bring all these feelings to you on this Thanksgiving Day. Faith attests that You accept us as we are. Help us open a place for you in our hearts, grant us peace and serenity, help us to identify people, places, and things for which we are grateful. Help us to make the most of this day, this meal, and our time together. Give us the grace to be kind, to be patient, and to affirm the best of what we know and see in one another. We know that Affirmation is the best way to cultivate Gratitude, and we hope that by the end of this day of National Thanksgiving, we may have more ways to affirm and bless one another and sing your praises.”
Then invite everyone to join in your family’s traditional Grace before Meals, OR if your company is of mixed religions, invite each to say his or her traditional grace in addition to your traditional one, OR you could also try this:
“Blessed are YOU, Source of Life, you are known by so many names, help us to experience GRATITUDE, for gratefulness nurtures mutual affection and places us on the path of peace. Bless our Meal and our Conversation. Amen.”
3. FIRST COURSE ACTIVITY (Soup/Salad/Antipasto): Treasured Gifts: During the first course, invite someone to pick an index card at random from the basket and read it aloud. All the guests try to guess the identity of the author. Once identified, invite the author to share why he or she remains thankful for this gift.
4. DURING THE MAIN MEAL: Invite each Guest to share his or her memories of the best Thanksgiving OR ANY SPECIAL MEAL that they have ever experienced and why it is an important memory for him or her. Use the Faith options in Part 1 “The Week Before Thanksgiving” (How this memory corresponds to a religious ritual or occasion) for additional points to share.
5. AFTER THE MAIN MEAL PRAYER: Post-Meal Prayers have fallen out of fashion. But since Thanksgiving is a Day of Gratitude and therefore a Day of Prayer, schedule a break BEFORE DESSERT (highly recommended), and before your guests leave the table, invite them to share spontaneous prayers for anyone or anything that concerns them. If you wish you could close with Psalm 121.
6. TAKE A BREAK BEFORE DESSERT and invite your guests to engage in some Physical Activity such as a walk outdoors or help in the kitchen, clearing the table, or playing Musical Chairs in the Living Room. MEANWHILE, guests should review their poem (Item # 6 noted above) and be ready to recite it at dessert.
7. DURING DESERT: POEM RECITATIONS.
8. THE FINAL CLEAN UP – HAVE EVERYONE JOIN IN. OR, if there are space limitations in the kitchen, direct those who cannot help to begin Social Activities.
9. SOCIAL TIME:
Community Games to Have on Hand: Charades, Pictionary, Balderdash
Dancing: Access the Music you have chosen via CD, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube
Old Fashioned WALTZ: I recommend “O Mio Babbino Caro” sung by Kiri Takanawa (CD: Kiri Te Kanawa Sings Verdi & Puccini) or on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRuYQ9KRJms
MAKE UP DANCES to selections from Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Full Soundtrack (some are downright silly!) available on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsZBEng7aJM
10. LINGERING TIME: Now people can watch the Football replays or evening games, play board games, watch Charlie Brown and other cartoons.
11. FAREWELLS As each person prepares to leave, ask if they would like a final Thanksgiving Blessing. If yes, the Hosts may place their hands on each guest’s head or shoulders and pray the PRIESTLY BLESSING from the Book of Numbers, Chapter 6: 24-26: “The Lord bless you and keep you! The Lord let his face shine upon you and be gracious to you! The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace! “Conclude with “Safe home! Godspeed! God bless!”
12. FOOTBALL FANS OPTION: If your guest list comprises a majority of Football fans, CONSIDER planning your meal and activities around them. Here is the Game Schedule for this year:
Recall the fable of Chicken Little: The Sky is Falling! And a parade of gullible animals ensues, following the little chick to –well, they do not know where they are going, they just keep moving and warning whoever will listen. At last, the larger beasts, acting according to their natures, pounce! They devour the smaller mammals and go about their lives. Perhaps that was their original intent when they joined in the procession. People, like fellow mammals, take advantage of anxiety and fear in others. The way of the world.
The prophet Daniel warns of times of great distress, and people fleeing everywhere, but not as fearmonger, but as a realist describing worldly realities. He ends his prophecy with Good News – many will ‘awake’ and “live forever and shine like stars in the firmament.”
Scholars tell us that this was the first clear biblical reference to resurrection, judgement, and afterlife in the Bible, written down in about 167 B.C.E. reflecting the growing awareness inherent in Judaism (and many other world religions) hundreds of years prior. Further clarification arrived through the Book of Wisdom (100 B.C.E.) for Pharisaic movement had already confirmed resurrection and eternal life as an essential tenet of faith.
So often people ask, “Why did the Christ chose to enter human history when he did?” Our explanation must include the longings of humanity for belief in an eternal soul for all –not just Kings and Pharoahs and mighty conquerors—was ready for the Christ to reveal, to confirm, to incarnate life, death, and resurrection as the everlasting, universal, foundational pattern of all Creation.
We must never take for granted our belief that heaven is our ultimate goal. Jesus’ resurrection remains the cornerstone of faith, just as it was for the earliest disciples. Christianity is not just Commandments and virtuous deeds, but participation in LOVE that is ETERNAL. Nothing is wasted. Goodness grows beyond the grave. Please do not rationalize our faith in Resurrection. It is not a mere metaphor; it is not only a comforting thought. It is the foundation of the world, Creation’s ultimate purpose.
Now, of course, DOUBT is part of a living faith. We wrestle with it continually, especially when conflicting thoughts and feelings wreak havoc within us, with others, with the world as it is. But hold on! Jesus promises to arrive in the midst of them—and arrive He does! He does not take advantage of us like some beast of prey. No. He delivers us from evil, comfort us in our distress—if we let Him, and He reminds us that, although we know NOT the ultimate day or hour, Heaven Awaits.
The Church confirms Jesus’ presence among us in every Sacrament we celebrate. The ‘sacred is manifested’ in our churches to remind us that grace nourishes us in faith, hope, and love in every situation and circumstance. We must allow Jesus’ Eucharistic Arrival today to intensify our faith, deepen our hope, and deliver us from the turmoil of the world. We have the gifts we need to address the wrongs of the age –and yes, they are many, but Christ, the Eternal Sacrament, confirms faith in Heaven and a Communion of Saints accessible to us here, now, and always.
We need not be afraid. Emmanuel has come and will come again, again, and again. Come, Lord Jesus, today!
The perennial question “How can we still believe in God with all the sin and evil in evidence in the world?” Comes in many forms and in many particular contexts, all interrelated. The question is often phrased specifically in terms of the sins of Christians as sufficient reason to abandon faith. To me as a Catholic priest, the question is contextualized in whether or not the Catholic Church can be an authentic way to God because of the continual exposing of its sins of child abuse and the removal of the statutes of limitations that bring the egregious sins of the past ever mindful to the present. There is no perfect answer, but this is the best I can do:
“Faith requires us to always look beyond the realities of sin and evil to a much bigger picture. Catholic priests’ sins and sicknesses are worth crying over and indeed a deep wound. Most are now dead, and others have been expelled from the priesthood. Victims have been offered counseling and monetary recompense, inadequate though that may be because of the depth of the betrayal. The “bigger picture” invites us to acknowledge the vastness of sin in every aspect of life and be open to look to those who offer positive witness to hope, humility, and kindness. The Cross of Jesus will always expose sin as it did 2,000 years ago, and faith in Christ invites us to be part of healing its wounds especially when we are tempted to run away as the Apostles ran in horror and disgust only to return because there was nowhere else to turn to live in Hope except in Resurrection. In a strange paradoxical way, failures and sin can motivate greater attention to God and our need for a Church as they can for condemnation of faith. Perhaps staying within a wounded institution helps strengthen our attention to God and all the world” ‘s needs for transformation, healing, and spiritual growth. Some find comfort in other denominations, others in different faith options or humanistic philosophies. Each of us must decide what path we can take or tolerate that helps us hold on to hope and love. Where do we find a place, a people, an institution that will accept us with our own failings and mistakes without denying us encouragement to enhance our better selves and inviting us to a deeper relationship with a merciful God?”
frjamesdiluzio 