Yesterday my mother sent me a text of some notes she had taken from a class of a priest who was very close to me who passed away unexpectedly earlier this year. This priest was explaining the reasons why we're happy as Christians: because we're children of God, because we're loved by God, in whom God delights, and where God wants to dwell. These are not only reasons why we're happy but reasons to be thankful on this Thanksgiving Day. Once you realize that you are God's beloved child in whom he delights and dwells then you spend your life constantly giving thanks. This is the reason for this annual Thanksgiving List. This is the reason why I have given it to my 8th graders for 15 years now. As children of God, we must always have a grateful heart as we look around and see the MANY blessings he has bestowed on us throughout this year. Yes, there are always trials that we are not thankful for, but looking back we see how those bumps in the road helped us grow closer to the One who loves us eternally. So on this Thanksgiving Day, we pause with our family and friends to bow our heads and give thanks to our gracious and loving God for all his blessings and reflect on a few (or a hundred or so) of the things that we are thankful for.
Happy Thanksgiving!
The 100 Things I Am Thankful For This Thanksgiving
1. The Eucharist
2. My Priesthood
3. The Immaculate Conception
4. My family
5. My cousins
6. Those who claim to be my cousins
7. Godchildren
8. My way too big family
9. My way too big “family”
10. My parish
11. My school
12. My parishioners
13. My school children
14. My students
15. My former students who will always be “my kids”
16. Answered prayers
17. “Youth Group Leaders” (yes, there are a lot of things in quotes this year so just go with it)
18. Satisfied
19. Friendsgiving
20. Cancers in remission
21. Newborn babies
22. Peaceful and happy deaths (those exist)
23. Priests who have been called home who were models of holiness
24. Father Oscar’s reasons why we’re happy:
a. Because we’re children of God
b. Because we’re loved by God
c. In whom God delights
d. Where God wants to dwell
25. The never-ending pursuit to be holy
26. The challenges of being a pastor of souls because they make me seek out holiness all the more
27. Prodigal children
28. Long talks with those prodigal children
29. Picking up a conversation where you left off that you started many moons ago
30. The Office
31. Carrying on a conversation with your best friend using nothing but The Office gifs
32. The theater! “There’s nothing like a show on Broadway…”
33. The Overture!
34. The West Wing Thanksgiving Episode “Shibboleth”: Pilgrim Detectives!
35. Friends Thanksgiving Episodes: “All right, where’s that turkey?”
36. “As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly!” (name the show)
37. “What’s next?”
38. El Salvador
39. Chumpes
40. Lago de Coatepeque
41. Jumping into a volcanic lake
42. Group pictures
43. Volcanoes
44. Hawaii
45. Friends who invite you to go on vacation with them!
46. The silence of heroes in Pearl Harbor
47. Kauai
48. Kauai roosters
49. Horseback rides on the beach
50. The Indiana Jones Cave!
51. The Ne Pali Coast
52. Helicopter Rides
53. Water slides
54. Elevators!
55. Perfectly fried tater tots at breakfast buffets
56. Throwing Maui’s stupid hook into the ocean (or wherever we threw it)
57. Casting a fishing line into the Pacific Ocean
58. Catching a fish from the Pacific Ocean
59. Those small, ordinary moments that turn out to become extraordinary
60. “Los momenticos”
61. Asheville
62. Casting a fishing line into a pond in the foothills of the Appalachians
63. Catching a fish from said pond
64. Mass in the mountains
65. When you hit that rare but perfect note in a homily
66. Direct flights
67. Ah ha! moments (or moments of epiphany if you will)
68. 33149
69. Da Boyz
70. Actually doing Carpool Karaoke (video not available)
71. “The Lord giveth. The Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
72. The March for Life
73. Walking the National Mall in silence at dusk
74. Any temperature between 55 and 70 degrees
75. Uber
76. Dumplings from a Hialeah Chinese Restaurant
77. Molina’s moros
78. Trigo’s batido de trigo
79. Brother priests
80. Watching parishioners become brother priests
81. Carnival!
82. Watching the kids run to the rides on Carnival Friday
83. A packed Church on Sunday, any Sunday
84. Holy Week
85. Holy Week dinners
86. The washing of the feet
87. Good Friday processions
88. My yearly climb to put the white cloth around the church crucifix
89. Finding that perfect quiet spot on campus to pray
90. Walking with my parishioners in their joys and in their sorrows
91. Memories of my ministry with the Dolphins
92. Opening Day with Dad (no matter how bad the team is)
93. Sitting on the beach with my father, staring at fishing rods without having to say a word
94. Rushing to the beach on summer evenings with my mother to catch the sunset
95. The countless rosaries my mother offers for me
96. My sister taking over my office because, well, she’s my sister
97. My smile when I’m talking with my sister on the phone and I know I’m not gonna get a word in
98. My oldest nephew being so much like my brother
99. My middle nephew’s inquisitiveness and uncanny similarities to his uncle
100. My youngest nephew’s imagination and train filled world
101. “A Million Dreams”
102. The unwavering faith that God forgives me and that his mercy is everlasting
103. The unwavering faith that I am loved unconditionally by God
104. Silence
105. The things I’ve been meaning to write down all week but forgot
106. Being able to write this list for a 15th year and thank God on this Thanksgiving Day
