Thursday of the Thirty-Fourth, or Last, Week in Ordinary Time

For the Poor Souls in Purgatory

Thanksgiving Day

Saints: Saints Andrew Dung-Lac and his Companions, Martyrs (17th-19th centuries)

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Ch 45 Mistakes in the Oratory

Mass for Thanksgiving Day: Sirach 50:22-24; Resp Ps 145: 1 Cor 1:3-9; Lk 17:11-19

Generation after generation praises Your works. 

MARY, QUEEN OF PEACE, 

OUR LADY OF VAILANKANNI,

SAINT GERTRUDE THE GREAT,

SAINT NICHOLAS OF TOLENTINO,

SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL,

PRAY FOR US.

And now, bless the God of all, who has done wondrous things on earth.

(Sirach 50:22)

Dear faithful readers, "I give thanks to my God always, remembering you in my prayers" (Philemon 4). Thank you for being there. Happy Thanksgiving! It is a day to give thanks, to express our gratitude to God for the abundance of gifts that have been bestowed upon us. It may be helpful too, to listen to Pope Saint Paul VI, from his encyclical on the Holy Eucharist, Mysterium Fidei: "To visit the Blessed Sacrament is ... a proof of gratitude, an expression of love, and a duty of adoration toward the Christ Our Lord" (66). And if nothing else, we can heed these words attributed to Meister Eckhart (1260-1328): "If the only prayer you say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough."

May God grant you joy of heart and may peace abide among you.

(Sirach 50:24)

SAINT ANDREW DUNG-LAC AND HIS COMPANIONS,

SAINT MARY ELIZABETH HESSELBLAD,

PRAY FOR US.

Please note: Today we begin a novena to Our Lady of Vailankanni, Our Lady of Good Health, a shrine dedicated to her shrine is at the Basilica of Our Lady of Health, Vailankanni, Tamil Nadu, India. You will find a statue of her at Saint Luke Catholic Church in Indianapolis, IN, brought there by nuns from India. For the sick and infirmed we pray, for health of mind and body.  

Today's photo: Three generations of women of faith. The beauty in the face of Grandma, who died at the age of 94, speaks volumes; Mother is without guile; Granddaughter and Daughter is a beloved of both. All three beloved children of God. 

© Gertrude Feick 2022