When I was growing up, one of the things I remember is that our family would always make it a point to go to Mass on Thanksgiving morning. The rest of the day was going to be filled with food, fun, family, and football. But we always started out our Thanksgiving Day by giving thanks to God for His many blessings.

When it comes to Thanksgiving dinner, of course, I enjoy turkey. Something I enjoy very much on Thanksgiving as well, is the dressing or the stuffing.

Thanksgiving is sometimes considered the launch of the holiday season. So many get excited for this time of year: shopping, parties, many gifts under the tree. But this coming season is not just about receiving gifts. Like Lent, Advent calls us to give prayer, penance and sacrifice. My prayer for each of us is that starting on Thanksgiving Day, we can intentionally unwrap the spirit of giving this Advent season.

Bishop's Thanksgiving prayer

God our Father as we celebrate Thanksgiving,
we recognize and acknowledge that all of our blessings find their origin,
their foundation, in you and your goodness.

We are so grateful for your love, for your mercy.
We ask that you help to inspire us to love others and to be generous
with our blessings that we have received.

And we ask all this through Christ our Lord,

Amen.