Dear St. Philomena Parish Family,<\/p>\n
Blessings and peace to you all this week! I hope everyone enjoys a great Thanksgiving week! A good number of years ago now, I was assigned at the Newman Center over in Champaign. Just before the school year started, we had our Resident Advisors dorm staff (students who worked in the dorm to watch over the residents) in for a training week and a mini getaway to help bond the group together. During that time I decided to treat everyone to a local ice cream stand. We had a large group (I think there were 22 total), so you can imagine that it took a good while for all of us to work through the line. At one point, I realized there was a father with three kids behind us\u2026the kids were getting a bit restless and impatient\u2026and that dad gave me a look that said, \u201cYou all aren\u2019t from around here are you?\u201d I just smiled and said, \u201cI\u2019m sorry you are behind our group\u2014I am a father of many.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the time, I didn\u2019t realize that one of the student leaders, Meg, heard me say that. A couple of days later back on campus we were hosting our dorm move-in pizza party. With a big smile, Meg walked up to me and handed me a special Diet Coke can that said \u201cDad\u201d on the side. She said as she was handing out the drinks she noticed that my name was on one of the cans. For me, it was a special moment that reminded me who I am as a priest\u2014who God has made me to be\u2014and one of the great gifts of the priesthood to be a spiritual father for many.<\/p>\n
When I moved from the Newman Center to a new assignment, I ended up packing that empty Diet Coke can and taking it with me. Several other moves through the years, I remember asking myself, \u201cAm I going to pack and move that empty can again?\u201d The answer each time has been, \u201cYes, it is a good reminder of who I am.\u201d Whatever happened to Meg? I traveled to Chicago earlier this weekend for her wedding!<\/p>\n
As I am thinking about this week ahead, I find myself feeling very thankful. Certainly thankful for Meg and being able to celebrate with her and her family. Definitely thankful to be here with my new parish family\u2014thankful for the many blessings these past months\u2026and looking forward to many more blessings in the months and years ahead. For me, Thanksgiving is always a great time to do what we do every time we come together for the Mass: to give thanks to God.<\/p>\n
While Thanksgiving is certainly an \u201cAmerican Holiday,\u201d it has included a religious element from the beginning. As the Catholic Encyclopedia<\/em> teaches, \u201cThe custom originated in 1621, when Governor Bradford of the Plymouth colony appointed a day for public praise and prayer after the first harvest, and the practice spread throughout the other New England colonies. The first national observance was when President Washington, at the request of Congress, recommended Thursday, 26 November, 1789, to the people of the United States \u2018as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favours of Almighty God.\u2019 This proclamation exhorted the people to \u2018beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions, to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best\u2019.\u201d In terms of Catholic observance, we have a special set of Mass prayers for Thanksgiving Day, concentrating on God\u2019s generosity and guidance for our nation, and our gratitude for His kindness. Overall, our celebration is very much in accord with the original intentions of Governor Bradford and President Washington. If you are in town on Thanksgiving Day, we\u2019ll have a special Mass at 9am to give thanks for the blessings of this past year and to ask God\u2019s blessing upon the year ahead. Know of my thanks for you all this week and that I am sending everyone an extra blessing on Thanksgiving Day!<\/p>\n In Christ,<\/p>\n Father Luke<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"