Every week the stock market seems to drop to new lows
and the economy seems to be on the verge of collapse as
first lending institutions and then the auto industry calls for
the government to bail them out financially. Many of us
have seen our investments tumble in value by tens or
hundreds of thousands of dollars or more. So we might be
tempted as Thanksgiving approaches to think there is not
much to be thankful for this year – and that is where we are
due for a hardcore reality check.
In the best of times Thanksgiving does not seem to go
much beyond turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie, “pilgrims”
seeking religious freedom for themselves (but nobody else)
and college football. But in tough times – or even times
that just threaten to get tough – we would do well to stop
and think of just how much we do have to be thankful for.
First and foremost we have our Catholic Faith. (We do
not have the so-called pilgrims to thank for our freedom to
worship as Catholics – they actually out-lawed us). We
should always remember all those who died for the Faith
and remember that even today, in many places of the
world, it is dangerous to be a Christian of any
denomination. Yet someplace as small as Great Falls is
chock-full of churches – Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopalian,
Methodist and Baptist. And none of us has to worry that
our church may be firebombed as we pray in it.
Lower on the scale we might consider our government
and elected leaders and how we like to complain about
them. We can complain away and do not have to worry
that we might be jailed for it. In the Germany, of my
mother’s childhood, to complain about the government was
to risk death, not just for oneself but for ones’ family as
well.
One thing that we Americans often forget is that even the
poorest among us is richer than most of the people
throughout the world. Running water, electricity, cable TV,
iPods, and mobile phones – good gosh, but we are spoiled.
In the French village where my family lived when I was
born only our house and the priest’s house had indoor
toilets! And there are many places today still where an
indoor toilet is an unimaginable luxury. And we get
concerned about how soft our toilet paper is.
Is an economic collapse in the offing? Perhaps, but even
if so we will weather it. Faith thrives when the times get
bad because people begin to realize what really matters.
What really matters is our relationship to God in and
through Christ Jesus. And when we realize that we begin
to understand that Thanksgiving should be every day.