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Colossians 3:17 NLT

'And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.'

Each November at the Oratory we hold a Thanksgiving week. Jayne, who has American connections, helps us to celebrate a Thanksgiving meal with our cousins from across the Atlantic. It is also the week that leads us into Advent and the wonderful journey to the birth of Messiah in Bethlehem.

If like me you regularly watch news bulletins, you may feel there is seldom anything to give thanks for, save for the fact that we can switch off the TV! We are surrounded by voices of doom or impending difficulty. Where are the good news stories?

Some parents face the imminent Christmas school holidays with apprehension. With the children at home, families complain about the need to see each other through the festive season, or just how difficult it is to buy an appropriate present and how much it all costs. So, as the festive season approaches in many homes, a dis-ease breaks out requiring some tender loving care. But this is what Thanksgiving can provide. It’s a moment to pause and count blessings, looking back over the past year and recalling all those things for which you can be thankful. It’s a week of greeting strangers cheerfully, tipping generously and determining not to lose your temper.

Disturb your grumpy exterior and let God’s kingdom burst out of you with a proclamation of thanks. Why not start every day when stepping from bed by stretching out your arms and tracing a heart shape in the air before you, and declare, “This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it” (see Psalm 118:24).

QUESTION: How can you practise thankfulness today?

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, through your gospel I am blessed beyond measure. May this truth produce a thankful heart in me.