The Thanksgiving holiday is a time when family and friends gather together, however, it’s more than just eating turkey and gathering with family around a table. As Catholics, we can celebrate “thanksgiving” every day. Every day we can go to Mass and receive Our Lord Jesus Christ – body, blood, soul, and divinity. The word Eucharist comes from the Latin term, eucharistia, which means “thanksgiving.” 

Today’s blog is to remind all of us that we must give thanks to God, especially in a year like this one. This year has to be one of the strangest years any of us have ever experienced. We must remember to focus on God and trust in Him alone. All that we have comes from Him. 

The great 20th-century Catholic writer, G.K. Chesterton, once said, “Nothing is taken for granted; everything received with gratitude; everything passed on with grace.”

This year has definitely been one of the most difficult years of life, but it also has been one of the most blessed. Although I lost my job at the parish due to budget cuts in March, I have been grateful to spend all this time with my young son at home. My son and I have developed a great father-son bond and I can only see it getting stronger. The two of us like to go outside and enjoy the cold weather, now that we live in the Upper Midwest. We also like to hunt flies together with my Bug-A-Salt gun. Haha! 

I am most grateful for my wife who seems to always keep me focused, even when I go down a negative road. She is truly a blessing in my life. I can’t imagine my life without her. I definitely married up and have been grateful for her presence in my life this year. I can’t imagine going through this year without her or my son. 

I am also grateful that we were able to sell our home so quickly in Arizona. I am grateful that we have been able to pay a lot of our debt and will have a down payment on our next home. I am grateful for my in-laws who invited us to stay with them until I find a new job (hopefully I will have good news for you soon!). I am grateful to have the full support of my mom and sister, even though we moved away from them this year. 

So, from family to yours, I wish you a HAPPY and BLESSED THANKSGIVING!

– TOM PERNA

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