The pilgrims who landed on the shores of America were fleeing persecution in Europe because of their religious beliefs. Here, they found a new land of hope and promise. The native American Indians confirmed this hope of the pilgrims by greeting them, not only with good will and friendship, but by helping them to survive. The Indians provided the pilgrims with food a-plenty, and taught them to make a new life in a foreign land by showing them how to grow corn and other native fruits of the earth. After their first harvest in America, the pilgrims reciprocated by inviting the Indians to a Thanksgiving banquet or dinner. Thus the first thanksgiving gathering took place in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1621, and consisted of ninety five Indians and sixty five pilgrims.

Long before Thanksgiving was celebrated by the first pilgrims and long before President Lincoln declared it a national “day” in 1863, it was celebrated in scripture as the indispensable responsibility of all mankind. “In all things,” says St. Paul, “give thanks.”

Thanksgiving has two aspects: Thanks and Giving. You cannot have one without the other.

1. Being thankful is good for the soul for it is recognition that everything we have in life is a gift. The fact that you are alive right now, at this particular moment, is an incredible long shot.. Be thankful every day for this gift of life. The odds against the flame of life reaching you were astronomical. Countless strains and branches of the human family ended in cul-de-sacs, victims of war, pestilence, and natural disasters. Yet, the flame of life passed through numberless generations until it now flickers in you.

This biological fact should be enough to make anyone thankful. When you get out of bed in the morning, be thankful you can take on the joys, the troubles or the challenges of each new day with hope and courage. When you sit down to breakfast or any other meal, say grace before you start to eat. There are many people in the world who suffer from malnutrition and are not so privileged as you are to enjoy good meals just for the asking. How often we forget to give thanks before meals!

I’m reminded of a story about a man who offered a seat at his table to another guest who couldn’t find one in a crowded restaurant. As was his custom, the man who invited the other guest to join him, bowed his head in prayer. When he opened his eyes, the guest asked: “Do you have a headache?” The man replied: “No, I don’t. I was simply thanking God as I always do before I eat.” The guest responded: “So, you’re one of those folks, eh?. I want you to know that I never give thanks. I earn my money by the sweat of my brow and I don’t have to give thanks to anyone when I eat. I just dig right in! The other man was amused, and replied: “Interesting! You’re just like my dog. That’s what he does.”

There are many people who behave like that guest at table. They believe they have earned every good that comes their way. So, they need not thank God or anyone else for that matter. But they have it all wrong. They fail to realize that the blessings that come to them are God’s blessings first before they become theirs. What did they do to merit being born? What did they do to merit the support of loving parents, family members, teachers, friends and relations? What did they do to be offered the gifts of faith, hope, and love to carry them through the many challenges, obstacles and burdens in life?

We have so much to be grateful for that our attitude should always be one of thanks from the moment we get out of bed to the moment we fall asleep.

2. Giving is inseparable from thanks. When you are thankful to someone, when you are blessed in some way, you want to return the favor by giving back. The original pilgrims understood this well when they gave back to the Indians by inviting them to enjoy the fruits of their first harvest in America. This thanksgiving also, millions of people all over America will visit with families and friends to give of their time, their love, and their presence to each other.

There are so many ways we can give back. We can give back to Almighty God by making of our lives a worthy sacrifice through the following of His only begotten son. We can give back to our parents by taking care of them and not forgetting them in their old age. We can give back to our fellow man by using our talents to benefit and to improve their lot in life. We can give back by reaching out, with compassion, to the poor and the vulnerable in our midst and abroad who do not have the means of living the kind of life we take for granted.

It is by these acts of thanks and giving that this world becomes a better place. When we are thankful and generous, we develop an attitude of gratitude where worries cease, complaining disappears, and the blanket of peace reigns in our hearts. These amazing graces of thanks and giving free us from being critical, angry and depressed. They bring us healing, laughter, and joy. They are the elixir of the soul.

Let not Thanksgiving be, for you, a passing affair to be celebrated one day a year. Rather, let it be, for you, a daily attitude.

I’d like to close with this Thanksgiving prayer:

Lord of the Universe, we give you thanks
For all the beauty, goodness and miracles
That surround us every day of our lives.
We celebrate the precious gift of life itself,
By sharing our joy with family and friends
In appreciation of all the blessings we have
Received, but too often fail to appreciate.

Fr. Hugh Duffy