During this month of Thanksgiving we remember firstly the example the saints have given us to follow. They give us hope and we are thankful. We have also prayed for the souls of our deceased loved ones - that their souls may be purified in Purgatory and that they may be able to see the face of God. One way we will thank God for their lives is by reading the list of names that have been presented before our Thanksgiving Mass on Tuesday, November 21st at 6:30 PM. We will thank God for their lives and the love they have shown us with the hope that we will see them one day again. 

At our Thanksgiving Mass at 6:30 PM on November 21st we will also have an opportunity for all ministries and people of the parish to make an act of Thanksgiving during the offertory. We will have tables set up in front of the altar for the presentation of these offerings of Thanksgiving. 

What is an act of Thanksgiving? It is a way of saying "thank you" to God for the ways in which He has blessed you or your ministry. Some ways we can say "thank you" are by bringing food for the hungry, making a check out to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, writing a thank you letter to different parish leaders who have helped or impacted you throughout the year, giving a gift to a priest or leader, making a donation towards the police or fire department, contributing towards the Christmas wish list, making a donation towards the New Church Building Fund in memory of a loved one, making a contribution to one of our many ministries, writing a letter of testimony of what God has done for you, offering a service to the parish that your company or family can provide, writing down that you will pray a rosary for the parish, for a person, or for a ministry, or any other act of thanksgiving you can think of to say "thank you" to God and to those who have helped you during this year. 

There will be envelopes in the back of the church for those who would like to write letters of gratitude to God or others, write a grace that was received this year, or to make a donation to the parish, an individual, or an organization. We would ask that all of the organizations and any individuals who would like to make an act of Thanksgiving to come forward during the offertory and present their gifts of gratitude to God at the altar during the offertory of the Thanksgiving Mass. 

I pray that we can be a people of gratitude for all that God has done for us, and by showing others that God has worked in our lives, that they too may come to believe in God's Providence.