"As the Thanksgiving season spills over into Advent and Christmas, many people find themselves remarking that this is their favorite time of the year.
"Thanksgiving Day is, of course, a secular feast day. Christmas is not. And most of those who speak of 'the holidays' as a not-so-artful dodge around the need to use the word 'Christmas' -- which is indeed a holy day -- seem to be oblivious to the fact that 'holiday' derives its very meaning from the word 'holy.'
"Thanksgiving, in full secular splendor, is more than welcome in my religious lexicon. If I were pressed to reduce the entire meaning of religion to one word, that word would be gratitude. The case for making that one word love instead of gratitude is worth attempting, but I recall learning that it was God who first loved us, thus enabling us to love and therefore all we can be is grateful. Why? Because God first loved us, he graced us."
In a recent commentary, Father William J. Byron, SJ, reflected on our practice of gratitude in our religious practices and in every other aspect of our lives.
To access Fr. Byron's complete post, please visit:
The Boston Pilot: Echoes: Gratitude as the essence of religion (28 NOV 14)
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