Thanksgiving message from Bishop Solis

Friday, Nov. 24, 2017

Thanksgiving greetings to the people of God in the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City! 

This weekend we gather with friends and family to give thanks for all our blessings. It is a special moment to sit still and prayerfully reflect on our life, family and society. We live in an imperfect world, broken by polarization and bruised by poverty, war and senseless violence, yet it overflows with abundance. God’s grace and beauty are around every corner. 

The roots of the holiday we are celebrating stretch back to 1621, when the English colonists who landed at what is now Plymouth, Mass. shared an autumn harvest feast with the native Wampanoag Indians, who arrived bearing five deer to add to the menu. Two years later the Pilgrims held another feast of thanksgiving to celebrate the end of a drought. As the English colonies in the New World became established, so did the custom of fall feasts of thanksgiving. Consequent historical events led to the continuation of this celebration. Our government issued proclamations through the years and set aside days of thanksgiving until it became a national holiday. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941 signed a bill setting the fourth Thursday in November as the official date of Thanksgiving. 

In all of this history, we see a common theme, that we should set aside an occasion to be mindful of what we have, to offer thanks for all our many blessings and to turn our thoughts to what is most important in life. However, there is a tendency to focus so intently on our blessings that we forget those around us who are wanting or deprived of what we have. The spirit of individualism has eroded our sensitivity to the existence and needs of others. Our Thanksgiving celebration will be complete if we share the blessings we have received with one another.

Our local churches will be open on Thanksgiving morning for the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. It is fitting to remember the meaning of the word “thanksgiving” in Greek, which is “eucharistia.” The Body and Blood is our true thanksgiving meal, which Christ shares with us every time we celebrate the Holy Mass. The turkey dinner we prepare at home provides food for our bodies, but the Holy Mass is the food that nourishes our souls, and the gift of salvation is offered through the bread and wine substantially changed at the altar into Christ’s own body and blood.

I encourage everyone to begin Thanksgiving Day with the Holy Mass. Join our fellow parishioners in praise and thanksgiving, and partake of the Lamb of God. The Eucharist draws us deeper together, deeper into communion with Christ and his Church. When we receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion, we manifest our unity with Christ and with our brothers and sisters.

Therefore, Thanksgiving, like the Eucharist, is a family gathering and a shared meal. Our community is as important as our family gathering, because through it we recognize that the presence of Christ is in other people, even those unrelated to us. Just as we share our Eucharist with others, I ask you to share your Thanksgiving meal especially with those in need, for in them we see the face of Christ.  

Thanksgiving Day, from its origins, has offered us the opportunity to express our gratitude for God’s blessings. Let us share these gifts as one family gathered together at our kitchen tables and at the altar of our churches. The food and blessings of the day are for all people, because God intended His love for everyone. So, on this day and always, be grateful to God and mindful of one another.

I pray that as we start the holiday season, we will renew and strengthen our faith in God so we may become witnesses of the love of God and a source of hope for our imperfect world. Thanksgiving fills our hearts with God’s grace, leaving no room for worries and complaints but only for the acknowledgement that all that we are, all that we do, all that we have comes from God, the giver of every good gift.

Happy Thanksgiving and my God bless you, your families, your loved ones, and the strangers you invite at your table.

Sincerely yours in the Lord,