Dear Parishioner of The Sunday Mass,

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. For God’s love endures forever.” (Psalm 136:1) These words that I often pray in my morning prayer came to mind as I sat down to write this letter. Yes, Thanksgiving is a day, a time to pause in the midst of our busy lives to be grateful and thankful. However, thanksgiving is more than a day it is a way of life for all people of faith. Each morning and each evening we are called to utter a simple prayer of thanks to our God whose love is ever enduring even if we fall short.

The act of giving thanks is formative. It shapes us. When it is our prayer, like all prayer, it changes us. Being thankful causes us to look at things differently. Thankfulness and gratitude put our lives in the proper context. When we approach life with gratitude we realize that all is truly a gift from God. We earn none of it. Life and everything in it is God’s enduring love for us. So, Thanksgiving is a time to be grateful for the gift of God’s love as we experience it each and every day.

Here at The Sunday Mass we want to remember to say Thank You to you during this season of gratitude. Thank you for being such loyal and faithful parishioners. Thank you for your faith filled support and generosity. Thank you for sharing your faith by walking with us.

As we celebrate the blessings of our lives, our country and our faith please know that we will remember you and your intentions at The Sunday Mass. We know that you are grateful for your blessings and your loved ones. We join with you in praying the most perfect thanksgiving prayer there is: the Eucharist. In fact that is what the word Eucharist means: Thanksgiving.

Please take the time to send us your Thanksgiving Blessing Prayer below so that we can include it at our altar as we make our prayer of Thanksgiving together, one body of Christ joined together in gratitude.

Remember as the great Dominican mystic, Meister Eckhart once said, “If Thank You is your only prayer that will be enough!” May God bless you, your families, loved ones, and our nation as we celebrate this most beautiful national holiday.

Peace in Christ’s Passion,

Fr. Paul R. Fagan, C.P.

Pastor of The Sunday Mass

Thanksgiving Prayer

Father in Heaven, Creator of all
and source of all goodness and love,
please look kindly upon us
and receive our heartfelt gratitude
in this time of giving thanks.

Thank you for all the graces and blessings.
You have bestowed upon us,
spiritual and temporal:
our faith and religious heritage.
Our food and shelter, our health,
the loves we have for one another,
our family and friends.

Dear Father, in Your infinite generosity,
please grant us continued graces
and blessing throughout the coming year.

This we ask in the Name of Jesus,
Your Son and our Brother. Amen.
(Traditional Catholic Prayer)