Patch Blog: The Spirit of Thanks-Giving

As this Thanksgiving season greets us with a spirit of an already tenuous financial crunch for many people throughout the world, I would like to offer an idea to hold during this precious season.

In a society whose dominant ideal mindset is to take and to hoard, we are met with an opportunity to turn within so that we may reflect on the things for which we are thankful. 

I would like to share a story a about a homeless woman who I had the honor of knowing. For 8 long years she lived at City Hall with her dog; her only friend.

I would bring her a sandwich now and then and eventually I formed a friendship with her. I checked on her to see that she was alright and slowly she began to trust me. Her life was wrought with trauma and abuse and she had lost hope eventually taking to the streets, favoring the anonymity of being “no-one.”

Last Thanksgiving it was unusually cold in Los Angeles. My homeless friend told me that she was very worried about sleeping in the cold another year.  She did not want to go to the shelter because she had encountered hurtful people. She told me that she was Catholic and I gave her a rosary and asked her to wear it with that faith that she would be taken care of. I then asked her if she knew of the revered Saint Padre Pio.  We talked in detail of the miracles of  St Pio and I promised her that upon my return home I would have a talk with Padre Pio about her situation.  

That night, I kneeled in prayer for this brave and broken woman.

The next day I went to visit her and she was loading all her meager belongings into a car. I asked her what she was doing and where she had gotten the car. She answered,   “A nice lady gave it to me.”  Insisting that I was behind this gift, I told her I had nothing to do with it and that St. Pio had heard my prayers and felt her faith.

When I returned  home that evening, I looked at my statue of Padre Pio and said, “Thank you for hearing me.”  Shortly thereafter the woman disappeared and I have not seen her again.

We often take for granted the food on our table and  fail to acknowledge that people go without food every day. I have witnessed children who go hungry every night although parents work three jobs to make ends meet. To no avail,  these children go to bed with an empty stomach and it is hearbreaking.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because it is the unwarranted blessings bestowed on me for which I am thankful.  Each morning I rise and am thankful that I can give. There is no greater nor rewarding gift than this.  Thanksgiving is a holiday of giving thanks for each blessing we have and for things we do not have.  Give and you shall receive.

A few days ago a woman stopped me and began to complain. I turned to her and gently asked, “What is it that you are grateful for?” Her face went blank and she fell silent. I gestured to the less fortunate surrounding us and asked, “What would it look like if this holiday season we embraced the ability we have to give unconditionally of ourselves? The extra pumpkin pie we ordered, that the Good Lord knows we do not need, could go to a family that would forever relish the gesture and the pie.”

She remained speechless and her eyes went soft. I continued, “These people around us are considered less fortunate and only dream of complaining about the senseless things we whine about.”

If each one of us gave to others who are in need, we show our gratitude for the very blessings we often take for granted. A kind word, a gesture or simply a positive, loving thought will travel across universes and reach your intended destination.

Let’s show our thanks by giving what we are able and let us all give. It is the heart open to giving that receives the most; and in turn you will be graced to give more.

As this Thanksgiving holiday season approaches I would like to offer each and everyone a simple Thanksgiving prayer/thought:

If you can't feed 100 people, feed one. Mother Teresa

May you all be blessed and Happy Thanks-Giving.