Giving Thanks

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His love is everlasting.

Thanksgiving is a Thursday in November that we set aside for giving thanks... 

Query: Why should we limit ourselves to one day of "thanks giving"?  Shouldn't every day be a day of giving thanks to God for His many gifts?

Even our crosses are gifts from God- challenges sent to make us stronger, to help us grow in faith... to help us die to self...

Yes- Thanksgiving day should be every day.

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His love is everlasting.

Rejoice!

This month, the daily prayer book that I started using a few months back, Give Us This Day, added Night Prayer to the prayer book, in addition to the Morning and Evening prayers. 

As part of the night prayers, which remain the same for the entire month, there is a short reading from St. Paul's letter to the Philippians that made an impression.  (I guess that is bound to happen after reading the same passage night in and night out for 22 days!).

Anyway, I think that St. Paul's message to the Philippians in this particular passage is quite appropriate for our crazy world today, which can so often fill us with anxiety.  Here it is, Philippians 4:4-7:

Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice! . . . The Lord is near. Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

AMEN! May that peace of which St. Paul speaks be with each and everyone of us during these times!

Silence

Yesterday, a friend of mine on the Mother of God Forum posted a quote about the importance of silence.  Her quote inspired me to do a little internet searching of my own for some additional Catholic quotes about silence.

Not surprisingly, I found a number of inspiring quotes on the subject, but two stood out immediately and I would like to post them below.  The first is from Archbishop Charles Chaput, formerly of the Diocese of Denver and now Archbishop of the Diocese of Philadelphia.  I do not know a lot about Archbishop Chaput, but I do know that he is a strong, conservative voice in the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops.  His quote regarding silence is as follows:

We need silence, more than anything. If people can create some time every day — even just an hour — when they eliminate all the distracting noise of American life, their spirit will naturally begin to grow. Daily life in the United States is so filled with appetites and tensions stimulated by the mass media that turning the media off almost automatically results in deeper and clearer thinking. And that interior quiet can very easily lead us to God.

The next quote I found is a real gem that is attributed to Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, that wonderful saint of our times.  Her thought regarding silence is:

We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls.

As we get ready for the Triduum, my prayer is that all of us may find some time for silence as we ponder Our Lord's great sacrifice.

Praise God!