Prayers of Thanksgiving

Dear Parishioners,

Thanksgiving is fast approaching. There are said to be several types of prayer. We all say prayers of petition. We pray for people who are sick that we love. We pray for the resources that we need to live from day to day. Students pray before they take a test. A parent prays before childbirth.

Another type of prayer is praise. When we gather on Sunday morning the main purpose is to give praise to God. God is great! We have all of creation as proof of God’s magnificence. We sing our songs of praise. We offer all kinds of prayers that point to the Lord’s goodness.

Contrition is another basic prayer that we utter. We apologize to God for things we do that are sinful. We are aware that we are not the people we want to be. We hurt others with our words and actions. We pray that others forgive us. We ask that God extends mercy to us. Finally, we pray that we can forgive ourselves. We are not created to wallow in shame and guilt.

The last of the four types of prayer is the prayer of thanksgiving. This is probably the most neglected of all the prayers. Someone once said that if we all say prayers of sincere thanksgiving every day, there would be very few atheists in the world. Perhaps the mark of an atheist is they feel they are self-sufficient. They have a sense there is no need for a higher power in their life.

This month begins another harvest. When we drive through the countryside, we see the corn and soybeans being gathered. I hear this year’s harvest rivals last year's harvest. This seems incredible given the unpredictable weather this summer. God blessed us again. The Lord is benevolent in so many ways. I encourage everyone to offer prayers of thanks throughout this month. This builds up our faith and the faith of all those we love.

May Our Lady of Peace pray for our wounded world.

Fr. Mark