THANK GOD FOR “THANKSGIVING”
“I come that you might have Life, and
have it with abundance.”
-Jesus, Jn. 10:10
“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty
Savior. He will renew you in His Love and rejoice over you with gladness. He
will sing joyfully because of you this day, as people sing at celebrations.”
-
Zephaniah 3
What a great day
“Thanksgiving” is, when life is made to slow down and opportunity is given to
see and appreciate the gifts and graces of God’s Love, to give thanks for the
blessings of His Love that surround us and literally permeate our lives.
But do we see
them? And if not, why? Often enough it is the cares and anxieties of a
stress-filled society that blind us to the blessings which reach out to us each
day, to the love which reaches out to us each day. I can remember so many years
ago a dramatic event in my life, a defining moment if you will, that made this
sad fact of modern life all too clear to me.
It was the late
1980’s and I was a Director of Religious Education and Youth Ministry at St.
Joseph’s Parish in Needham. Mass. It was September and I remember that I was
new on the job, having only begun my position the month before. I had a great
office in the parish grammar school, and early on – from the first day of
school – I realized that the children liked to come into the office and visit.
They were curious about the new “Director”. Many of them too were genuinely
determined to help me adjust to my new circumstances. They would assist my
office in whatever way I needed help. They were concerned that I liked being at
St. Joseph’s, and determined to make my stay a pleasant one- more than that, a
most memorable one. And looking back now, my three years there was precisely
that!
Many of the
students also began to visit regularly, especially once they realized that I
always had a candy dish on my desk – in every position I’ve had working with
youth, I’ve always had a candy dish! It’s the St. Ignatius in me: when
evangelizing, lead the youth into your ministry by their own door; then after
ministry, whether retreat or youth excursion, lead them out back into life
through the Lord’s door. “Candy” brought the youth into regular contact with
me, and those contacts for a fact became a valuable vehicle for the workings of
Grace.
One such student
who became my most regular visitor was Christopher Rudolf, a handsome first
grader at our school, full of personality, who was the picture of joy and
happiness. Almost every day during a free period he would find his way to my
office desk, and situate himself right in front of the candy dish. And while
stuffing his pockets with bite-size Snickers, would ask me how I was doing that
day. I enjoyed Christopher’s visits immensely, and especially enjoyed watching
that twinkle in his eye when he first saw each day that I was always faithful
at re-filling the candy dish.
After some weeks
of his regular visits, I decided I was going to find out just where this new
found relationship was heading. So as Christopher was visiting one day and
filling his pockets, I looked him right in the eye and said to him – almost
sternly – that I needed to ask him a most serious question. He paused in his efforts to raid the pile of
Snickers. His hand left the candy dish and moved to where it would be when
grammar students stand at full attention. His face became a little
apprehensive, as if to say to me non-verbally, “Am I in trouble?”
I quickly though
allayed any fear with my serious question. I said, “Christopher, you come visit
me every day. I think we’re becoming friends, even best friends. Am I your best
friend?” I’ll never forget Christopher face in that moment. His hands now
joined together behind his back, and with a big smile on his face, he nodded up
and down a most handsome non-verbal “Yes!” He literally skipped out of the
office, and never thought to finish filling up his pockets with Snickers!
It was a Friday
about three weeks later, and I was walking over to the rectory during the
children’s morning recess. I needed to have checks signed for the upcoming Antioch
Retreat that weekend which involved nearly a hundred youth from nearby Needham
high – checks for the food, the lodging, the rental vans. You know what they
say about the “Devil in the details” – nothing could have been more true in
that moment when I was walking over to the rectory to have the pastor sign the
checks. Had I remembered all the details in preparation for the retreat? Was I
forgetting anything? I was harassed, worried, and anxious; totally stressed out
by all that had to be done in preparation for the retreat – a retreat mind you!
The irony of it all! A retreat is a time when we lead youth to see and
experience the Spirit of Christ’s Love present in power among us, surrounding
and filling our lives. Yet, as I was walking over to the rectory, the Spirit was
the last thing in the world that I was experiencing.
Well, I got
about two thirds of the way through the school yard when I felt a tug on my
suit-coat. I turned around and there was Christopher Rudolf. Before I could say
anything to him, he began to jump up and down, while yelling out loud, “Mr.
Michaud, it’s Christopher Rudolf, your best friend in all the world!”
In that moment,
that defining moment, it was like I woke up from a dark dream. I suddenly
realized that I had just walked through a whole school yard of young children;
yet consumed and blinded by worry within my own heart and mind, I had not seen them playing or heard at all
their laughter and joy. Tears filled my eyes as I suddenly became aware of how
blind and deaf I had been to the beauty and the blessings, the gifts and the
graces which were even at that moment all around me.
The tears though
soon gave way to Joy as I began to laugh out loud at the magnificent spectacle
of Christopher jumping up and down with happiness. He was the face of Jesus for
me in that moment, and God through that little boy was teaching me a profound
lesson that has never been lost to me since that day. If today you don’t see
God’s Love, or hear Him singing out loud at the thought of you, then open your
eyes and have ears to hear! See the gifts of His Love reaching out to you this
day, and be the gift of His love reaching out to others.
The dawn of
Light will happen when you make a child smile, when you make them jump up and
down with happiness; when you call a friend and be a friend, and when that
friend feels valued, cherished and loved because of you. The dawn of Light will
come when you savor Life, when you savor God’s Life among us, His Life present
in power through the Spirit of the Risen
Jesus; when you savor the Spirit of His Love which fills your life; when you
open your heart to that Love and become the face of that Love for others
The Lord came precisely
for that reason, that we might have Life and have to the full – have it with
abundance, or with “abundanza” as my Italian friend Dom would often say. When
you hold hands with family and say Grace at Thanksgiving meal this year, may
there be tears - not tears of sorrow,
but tears of Joy in your experience of Life among us, His Life present in
abundance, filling your life with His Love.
- Have a beautiful and blessed Thanksgiving!
God bless,
Doug +
