The Bridge of Gratitude

When I talked to my younger brother the other day, he said his young step-grandchildren had never been taught why we celebrate Thanksgiving. I suggested that before his family begins their holiday meal, he might ask everyone around the table to name something they are thankful for.

Developing “an attitude of gratitude” is an important step in cultivating contentment, which is one of the keys to the good life. Abraham Lincoln noted that “Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be,” and recognizing our blessings instead of yearning for what we don’t have sets us on the road to happiness.

Furthermore, the Thanksgiving holiday is a bridge to Advent, because gratitude is an important way that we “make straight the way of the Lord.” As Joan Chittister explains, “Christmas is the obligation to see that everything leads us directly to God, to realize that there is no one, nothing on earth that is not the way to God for me. …The moment we begin to really celebrate Christmas, to look at everyone and everything as a revelation of God, to say ‘thank you’ for them … racism would be over, war would be no more, world hunger would disappear, everything would be gift, everyone would be sacred.”

This Thanksgiving, let’s set our Advent intention to make straight the way of the Lord by being thankful — even for dry turkey, family members whose political viewpoints differ from ours, and challenging travel conditions. Everything leads directly to Emmanuel, God with us, and so we can trust the words that the mystic Julian of Norwich heard Jesus say in a vision: “All shall be well, all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.”