Giving Thanks

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Yesterday in a conversation via text with a friend, I mentioned that I was praying for inspiration for this column. His reply was, “Thanksgiving is coming up. There’s a lot to be thankful for.”

Rather than agreeing, my immediate response was that I have yet to figure out a menu for Thanksgiving Day, and because that’s next week, I’d better put some thought into it so that I won’t have to be grocery shopping the day before.

The conversation shifted to another topic, but when I went for a walk later my thoughts returned to it. I often fail to “give thanks in all circumstances,” as Paul urged the Thessalonians; I’m also not very good at following the advice he gives in the two verses that precede those words: “admonish the idle, cheer the fainthearted, support the weak, be patient with all. Rejoice always.”

This counsel is a concise summation of the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy taught by our faith, and it’s especially appropriate for the holiday season. Still, I’m finding it difficult to get into a grateful frame of mind this year. The political climate in our country and the world frightens me; hatred seems to dominate the atmosphere. Hardly an hour goes by without news of a malevolent act, and I find myself fighting the fear that soon one of those will strike a family member or friend.

For the past three months I have prayed a daily rosary for a special intention, consciously asking not for what I wanted but that God’s will be done. It turned out that his will didn’t coincide with my desires on the matter, so I’m wrestling to accept that.

Last week I discussed my struggles with a priest, who asked if I had faith in God, to which I responded, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.”

As the conversation continued, I remembered another quote, this one from Pope Francis: “You pray for the hungry. Then you feed them. That’s how prayer works.”

It occurred to me that you could apply that statement to almost any matter you bring to prayer; in my case: “You pray for an end to hatred. Then you work to overcome it.”

I don’t know yet what work I will undertake in this regard, I only know that I want to be part of the solution, and that while I will continue to take the matter to prayer, I also will follow St. Ignatius of Loyola’s advice: “Pray as if everything depended on prayer; then work as if everything depended on work.”

In the meantime, I’m returning to my friend’s statement that there is much for which I can give thanks. Most often I focus on what I lack, not what I have, but as we approach the day that our nation sets aside as a time of gratitude, I am changing my mindset.

I am grateful that most of my friends and family are healthy, not facing serious health or financial problems or otherwise in need, and I am thankful that for those who are, help is available.

I am grateful that I have a job that allows me to put food on the table and a roof over my head, with enough left over that I can donate to local, national and international charities that help people in need.

I am grateful that I live in a country that protects freedom of religion.

I am grateful that I have the opportunity to work to address the problems I see facing society; that I am not barred from doing so because of my sex, race, religious affiliation or other characteristic.

I am grateful that there are many people in my community, my country and this entire world who work to help the hungry, the immigrant, “the last, the least and the lost.”

Now that I have started, I realize that I could continue this list for quite a while, but instead I will end by confessing my gratitude for God, who continues to call me from my wayward ways to return to his fold.

This Thanksgiving and always, may God, the giver of all good things, bless you and your family.

Marie Mischel is editor of the Intermountain Catholic. Contact her at marie@icatholic.org.