I saw it written, “God’s Bounty ~ Our Blessing,” and the phrase has stuck in my heart!
Soon, we will be celebrating and giving praise to God for the multiple gifts that are ours. The Pilgrims and Indians set that stage for us long ago. Today we gather with family and friends, around tables of plenty on Thanksgiving Day, to remember and give thanks.
But God’s amazing bounty encompasses more than the wonderful fruits and grains of the earth. The First Sunday of Advent is November 27. We, the People of God, long for the coming of Emmanuel, God with us, taking on our human flesh. At Thanksgiving, through Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter, we remember and give thanks for the birth , death and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. With the eyes of faith we await His Second Coming. Salvation, the sacraments, scripture and liturgy are among the bounty and blessings of our lives as Catholics.
Advent, 2011, has been designated as the time to begin the implementation on the new translations in the Roman Missal. Yeees, change - any kind of change - can be difficult. Yet, Eucharist is always...a blessing by which the Church expresses her gratitude to God for all benefits, for all that has been accomplished through creation, redemption, and sanctification. Eucharist means first of all "thanksgiving."(Catechism of the Catholic Church, # 1360, adapted).
I’ve been praying with some of the Mass translations. I am inspired by new phrasing in the Concluding Rites. Pope Benedict XVI has made the words of sending forth after the final blessings more missionary. To site just two: “Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord” and “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.”
Accept the challenge! Let us affirm and proclaim this ADVENTure in faith and thanksgiving!
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