Happy Feast Day! It is the Feast of Christ the King; a fitting ending to the liturgical calendar and a fitting beginning to our Thanksgiving celebration for all we are grateful. As we give thanks, we prepare to begin a new liturgical year as we enter the Season of Advent. A word on each would be appropriate so we don’t miss the presence of God’s hand in each of these events.
As we claim Christ as King of our lives, we give thanks for the gift of faith. How important it is to cling to that faith as we face the challenges of each day. I have a plaque in my bathroom that I read every morning as I brush my teeth, it was put there by our mother. It reads: “Lord help me to remember that nothing is going to happen today that you and I together can’t handle!” When challenges arise, as they often do, when wisdom is needed, as it often is, when patience is required as is often the case, I recall those words and remember that God is working in and through me.
Thanksgiving is a time to look back at the many blessings we have received and give thanks for grateful hearts to the giver of all gifts. Our Thanksgiving hymns resound with joy as we gather the morning we give thanks as a nation: “Now that we all our God,” “All Good Gift Surround us, are sent from heaven above,” “Let all thing now living a song of thanksgiving to God our Creator triumphantly raise!” Taking the time to develop a daily attitude of gratitude helps each of us to realized just how blessed we are and in turn enables us to be a blessing to others.
As we then enter the Season of Advent and a new liturgical year; we as followers of Jesus Christ are reminded that life in not linear but cyclical. There is nothing new under the sun. This is why we as Catholics read the whole Bible every three years; we are reminded of the seasons of our lives and how the events in scripture connect with our lives today. Our homily series throughout the year are a good opportunity for families and small groups to deepen their faith by unpacking the message found in the liturgical reading, the seed from the homily and the wisdom of our fellow travelers on the faith journey. One Church, One Message is so important to growing our community of faith. I encourage you as we enter this new year to gather in small groups to deepen faith targeted by the word we share here as a Community of Sacred Heart.
Happy Feast of Christ the King, Thanksgiving and Advent!