thanksgiving day 2021

Opening Prayer: Give us, O Lord, a heart of gratitude, rather than a spirit of entitlement.  Help us to see that all of life is a gift to be received and not a right to be possessed and defended.  Amen.

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Journal: How will you choose gratitude today? 

Reflection: “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Gratitude is not a feeling, it is a choice.  It is a way of seeing, and then a way of being.  It is a way of looking at life that recognizes that everything is a gift.  It is a way of trusting that even in the most challenging of circumstances there is something to be grateful for.  God is still at work.  That’s why Paul reminds us to “give thanks in all circumstances.”  In fact, that is God’s will for us in Christ Jesus.  God’s will is not for us to complain and ask “why” and get frustrated and angry about the things in this life that we can’t control, it is an invitation to find him and his goodness in the midst of them.

Unfortunately, that is not always easy to do.  Sometimes we let our circumstances get the best of us.  Sometimes we let our circumstances turn us into the worst possible version of ourselves: frustrated, angry, and entitled.  In fact, one of the biggest enemies of gratitude is entitlement.  Entitlement does not see everything as a gift that should be received, but as a right that must be possessed and defended, which, seemingly, makes loving each other an impossibility.

So let’s choose gratitude instead of entitlement.  Let’s make each day an opportunity for joy and thanksgiving, because joy is the fruit of gratitude.  As a wise saint once said, “Gratitude makes the heart great.”  So let’s make each day great.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Prayer

Closing Prayer: “Let joy be your continual feast.  Make your life a prayer.  And in the midst of everything be always giving thanks, for this is God’s perfect plan for you in Christ Jesus.” (TPT)

 

keep watch

Opening Prayer: Teach us, O Lord, to keep watch for your coming.  For you are likely to come in a way that we least suspect.  Amen.

Scripture: Luke 2:8-15

Journal: What does it look like in your life to “keep watch?”  How might God show up in ways that are very different from what you expect?  How will you keep watch for that?

Reflection: My guess is that one of the main reasons the angels came to the lowly shepherds was because they were the ones “keeping watch.” (Luke 2:8-15) It was an art they were well-practiced in; such an integral part of their everyday lives.

Keeping watch is so important in the spiritual life.  Yet, it is not as easy as it seems.  Oftentimes, our expectations of what we will see, or how, where, or when we will see it, get in the way.  We are busy looking for one thing, when God is doing another.  We are expecting him to make a grand entrance, when he is trying to sneak in the back door.  He is often more quiet and hidden and subtle than we give him credit for.

I mean, who in their right mind would expect God to come into his world as a baby?  Yet that’s exactly what he did.  So if we are trying to “keep watch” over these next days or weeks or months, we might do well to look for God to come in the ways we least expect.

Prayer

Closing Prayer: Cultivate in us, O God, a heart of watchfulness.  Help us to never get so involved in the noise and the chaos and the busyness around us that we are unable to recognize you when you come to us.  Come, Lord Jesus!

the fruit of humility

Opening Prayer: Lord, give me the ability to persist through tedium, to survive without the oxygen of recognition, praise, and stroking, and to do some good things every day which are seen only by You. —Sacred Space: the Prayer Book 2010 by Jesuit Communication Centre

Scripture: Proverbs 11:2

Journal: What good things is humility growing in you right now?  How does humility set you free?  From what?

Reflection:

oh humility

do your

good work

in me

set me free

from self

and teach me

how to love

Prayer

Closing Prayer:

O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.

From the desire of being esteemed, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being loved, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being extolled, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being honored, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being praised, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being preferred to others, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being consulted, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being approved, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being humiliated, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being despised, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of suffering rebukes, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being calumniated, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being forgotten, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being ridiculed, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being wronged, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being suspected, Deliver me, Jesus.

That others may be loved more than I,

Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be esteemed more than I,

Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease,

Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be chosen and I set aside,

Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be praised and I unnoticed,

Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be preferred to me in everything,

Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should,

Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.    

—Litany of Humility

not shaken

Opening Prayer: “My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.  He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.” (Psalm 62:1-2)

Scripture: Psalm 62:1-8

Journal: What has shaken you lately?  What things (or people) tend to leave you shaken most often?  Why?  How does trusting in God alone keep you from being shaken?

Reflection: “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.  He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.” (Psalm 62:5-6)

I am continually amazed at how fragile my sense of well-being and identity can be.  The least little comment, or lack thereof, can throw me into a bit of a spin.  How I long for a greater durability, a rootedness that is not dependent on mood, whim, or circumstance.

That’s where the words of this ancient prayer are such a great companion.  They remind me that if I am easily shaken, it is most likely because my soul is not resting in God alone.  And, thus, they re-center me and allow me to set my feet, once again, on the rock of his unfailing love.

Prayer

Closing Prayer: Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.  He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.” (Psalm 62:5-6)