The Perfect Thanksgiving Has Nothing to Do with Turkey

My latest article over at Catholic Exchange's "Grow" channel gives me a chance to share a few reflections about thanksgiving in my own life, and what it means for the Church.  Here's a teaser from my on-going column, "Embracing the Catechism":

Every single offering of the Eucharist is a time to count our blessings and to praise and thank God for his gifts.

It really defines Catholics as a thanksgiving people.  The Eucharist perfects our expression of it, as a kind of gratitude par excellence.

Thanksgiving itself has held a few watershed events for me, moments that have been intensely personal, and yet full of God’s bounty for me, for which I have returned the gift of my gratitude many times over through the years.

One Thanksgiving morning in the mid-90s, I learned what it means to be a walking answer to someone else’s prayer. In the aftermath of surviving breast cancer and a veritable rebuilding of my torso and my life, a friend looked me in the eye through happy-tears saying she was thanking God for my life that day. Her words reminded me that God is still in the business of answering prayers. Every. Single. Day. And so it must be with our thanks. Every. Single. Day.

Another Thanksgiving, my husband and I found out we were expecting a child.

And still another, I attended a very large dinner celebration with our extended family, celebrating my in-laws’ 50^th wedding anniversary. How wonderful that they were married on Thanksgiving! Their love is a happy reminder each year that thanksgiving in marriage ought to be a way of life. 

Of course, there's more...