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A Thanksgiving Message from Bishop O'Connell · Chancery holiday hours
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November 26, 2024A MESSAGE FROM BISHOP DAVID M. O’CONNELL, C.M.
The action of thanksgiving takes gratitude a step further
St. Vincent de Paul (1581-1660), the founder of the religious congregation to which I belong, often spoke to his priests and brothers about gratitude as the “most important virtue.” He observed, “We should spend as much time in thanking God for his benefits as we do in asking him for them.”
His wisdom echoed that of the ancient Roman statesman and orator Cicero (106-43 BC) who called gratitude “the parent of all virtues.”
Gratitude and thanksgiving are certainly admirable human qualities and the source of many social and spiritual graces. That we Americans devote a whole day to lift them up and celebrate them is equally admirable.
The final Thursday in November is the day we traditionally devote to giving thanks as a nation, dating back to the early 19th century. “Over three centuries ago,” President John F. Kennedy wrote in his 1963 Thanksgiving Proclamation:
“Our forefathers in Virginia and in Massachusetts, far from home in a lonely wilderness, set aside a time of thanksgiving. On the appointed day, they gave reverent thanks for their safety, for the health of their children, for the fertility of their fields, for the love which bound them together, and for the faith which united them with their God.”
Read the entire message HERE.
THE CHANCERY IN LAWRENCEVILLE will be closed Wednesday, November 27, 2024, until Monday, December 2, 2024, for the Thanksgiving holiday.
