Happy Thanksgiving!

Dear Students,

Praise to our Lord Jesus Christ!  Many of us have a short week this week due to the Thanksgiving Break.  Our prayers are for safe travels and an enjoyable holiday with your families and friends.

Thanksgiving is a national holiday. It was instituted by our government, not by the Church.  Nevertheless it can be considered a religious holiday in that the One we are called to express our thanks to is none other than the God who gives us all we have, and all we are.  The popular image of Thanksgiving's origins involves pilgrims and natives sharing a harvest feast.  But the national holiday was actually instituted by Abraham Lincoln in 1863, during the Civil War.  His proclamation reads, in part:

I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. (Oct. 3, 1863).

 So remember to give thanks and praise to God this Thanksgiving, and every day.  And remember, the word Eucharist means "thanks giving."  Catholics celebrate a thanksgiving meal each and every time we attend Mass.  There can never be a better way to offer thanks to God than through His Eucharistic Son.

• Read more about Thanksgiving from a Catholic perspective here.

Father all-powerful, your gifts of love are countless and your goodness infinite; as we come before you on Thanksgiving Day with gratitude for your kindness, open our hearts to have concern for every man, woman, and child, so that we may share your gifts in loving service. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

--

WCU Catholic Campus Ministry

Matthew Newsome, MTh, campus minister

www.WCUCatholic.org

  

(828)293-9374  |   POB 2766, Cullowhee NC 28723

Join our FACEBOOK Group!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We all know Thanksgiving is an American holiday, and not a Catholic liturgical holiday.  Nevertheless, there is much about Thanksgiving which is very Catholic in character.  Our word Eucharist means "thanksgiving" - to give thanks - and so each time we celebrate the Mass, we are celebrating a liturgical Thanksgiving feast.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us that Eucharist is essentially a prayer of thanksgiving (1360).  Just listen next time you are at Mass to how often either the celebrant or the faithful says the word "thanks."  But more than just at Mass, we should carry that attitude of thanksgiving out into the world.  The Catechism teaches us that believing in God means "living in thanksgiving" (224).  At Mass we asked to "always and everywhere give thanks" to God.

For this reason, prayer is essential to any true celebration of Thanksgiving.  Rather than being a day to overeat and watch football, our American holiday began as a celebration of thanks and praise to God.  It all began in 1621 when the governor of Plymouth dedicated a day for public prayer in thanksgiving for a good harvest, and the custom spread across New England.  In 1789 our first President, George Washington, declared Thursday, Nov. 26, "as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favours of Almighty God."

From the beginning, then, Thanksgiving was intended as a day set aside for prayer.  When President Lincoln made him famous proclamation in 1863 declaring the last Thursday in November as a day of national observance, he reiterated the prayerful nature of the holiday.  After describing a litany of blessings the American people enjoy (despite being in the midst of the Civil War at the time), Lincoln underscored the fact that these blessings were "gracious gifts of the Most High God," which "should be acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People."  

Lincoln continued:  "I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the the United States, and also those who are at seas and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens."

To that, we Catholics would reply (in the words of the previous English edition of the Mass), "It is right to give Him thanks and praise."  So this Thanksgiving, enjoy your day off classes.  Enjoy some turkey, sweet potato casserole, stuffing, cranberries and pumpkin pie (I certainly will!).  Watch a football game if you like, and relax with the family.  Enjoy it.  But in the midst of that, take time to make note of your blessings.  Be aware that these things - including your existence itself - are gifts from God.  And offer prayers of thanks and praise.  

We'll see you back here next week!

Pax Christi,

Matt

--

WCU Catholic Campus Ministry

Matthew Newsome, MTh, campus minister

www.WCUCatholic.org

  

(828)293-9374  |   POB 2766, Cullowhee NC 28723

Join our FACEBOOK Group!

From WCU: Weekly Update from CCM

Dear Students,

Have a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving break! 

Thanksgiving is an American holiday, not a Catholic holiday, but it still is a holiday deep with religious significance.  Many people assume the first Thanksgiving was celebrated at the Plymouth settlement in November of 1621.  It was then, to mark the first anniversary of the their arrival, that Governor William Bradford declared a day of prayer thanksgiving to God for their survival.  The sixty pilgrims were joined by ninety or so Native Americans, and after that, the custom of celebrating a day of Thanksgiving spread to other colonies in the New World.

After the Revolutionary War, President Washington declared that November 26, 1789, be "a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and sole favors of Almighty God."  But it did not become a national holiday until 1863 when Lincoln declared that the last Thursday in November be celebrated each year "as a day of Thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father."

So, in its origins, Thanksgiving is a holiday established in our country not just as an occasion to "give thanks" in a generic sort of way, but specifically to give thanks to God for all the blessings we have in our lives.  

This thought is very much in keeping with Catholic tradition.  Our principle feast, the Sacrament we celebrate each day in Catholic churches across the world, and which faithful Catholics are obliged to participate in each Sunday, is the Eucharist.  That word -- eucharist -- comes from the Greek meaning, "to give thanks."  

When Christ instituted the Sacrament of His Body and Blood, he did so by taking bread and wine, blessing it, and offering thanks to the Father.  He instructs us to do the same, in memory of Him.  With this Sacrament, we are forever linked to the sacrifice Christ made for us on the cross at Calvary.  Forever more, from that point on, animal sacrifices would no longer be offered in an attempt to make reparations to God for our sins.  The bloody sacrifices of old represented a people trying their best to say, "I'm sorry" for their failings and imperfections, their evils and wrong doings.  But no amount of sacrifice on their part could make up for the distance between our sinfulness and God's holiness.

Only God could bridge that gap, and He did exactly that through the perfect sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ.  Now, when we participate in the sacrifice of the Mass, we do so with a spirit of eucharist.  We do so with a spirit of thanksgiving.  

This Thursday, wherever you are, whether you are gathered around a table with family, enjoying a delicious feast, or sitting alone eating a more humble meal, don't forget to offer a prayer to your Heavenly Father in gratitude for all the many blessings in your life; especially the greatest blessing of all, the gift of His Son, our Savior.  Don't forget to say, "Thank you, Father."

God bless,

Matt

--

WCU Catholic Campus Ministry

Matthew Newsome, MTh, campus minister

www.WCUCatholic.org

  

(828)293-9374  |   POB 2766, Cullowhee NC 28723

Join our FACEBOOK Group!

From Davidson: CCM Bulletin week of November 12

A prayer for Thanksgiving….

I should like to have a great ale-feast for the King of Kings;

I should like the heavenly host to be drinking for all eternity.

I should like to have the men of heaven in my own dwelling.

I should like to have the vessels of charity to dispense.

I should like to have the pitchers of mercy for that company.

I should like hospitality to be here for their sake;

I should like Jesus to be here always.

                ~10^th C. Irish (attributed to St. Bridget)

Congratulations to Chris Mayes who was received into the Catholic church at our Lingle mass last Sunday! For more information on Rite of Reception, see the FAQ at the end of the bulletin.

~Karen

CATHOLIC VOLUNTEER NETWORK:

This is an umbrella organization for 200+ faith-based service groups, mostly (but not all) Catholic. CVN publishes a paper directory of programs called Response (I have tons in my office if you want one) with great indices to help spark your imagination. They also have an on-line  process to help match you with an appropriate program. You can find it here: https://www.catholicvolunteernetwork.org. Their rep will be on campus on tomorrow from 11-2 with a table in the Union, and she’ll come to our Renew dinner that night (and hopefully talk about the Dominican Volunteers, the program I did after college).

FAQ: What’s the Rite of Reception…and what does Evangelization mean?

• The Rite of Reception is how people who have been baptized (and maybe also confirmed) in another Christian denomination “switch over” to the Catholic Church—more correctly known as being “received into the full communion of the Catholic Church.”
• As a candidate, you go through a preparation process to make sure you understand enough about Catholicism to be able to make a full commitment to it. Then you participate in a quite simple rite, usually at a regular Sunday mass, asserting your acceptance of Catholicism. You are confirmed by the pastor and then you receive Eucharist.
• Evangelization has its roots in the latinized Greek word meaning “good news”; in Anglo-Saxon this was rendered gode-spell (good story), hence our English word ‘gospel.’
• Many of us Catholics associate evangelizing with bible-bashing soapbox-shouting “come to Jesus” corner preachers, door-to-door missionaries, or other sorts of folks who make us squirm. This style isn’t really ours, but we do evangelize and we always have and I hope you will. How might you evangelize in an authentic ‘non-squirmy’ way? Here are some ideas.
  • Invite a friend to Renew. We don’t hard-sell the Catholic church at Renew, but many people are longing for community, and that’s what we try to embody in our weekly fellowship. Anna Van Erven, who joined the church last year, explicitly mentions her Renew experience as one of the things that helped her decide her home was in the Catholic Church.
  • Invite a ‘Catholic’ friend to mass. There are 300+ Catholic students on this campus and they’re certainly not coming to Lingle Chapel. People have many reasons for not going to mass, but sometimes they really want to go but just need a friendly (and non-judgmental!) nudge.
  • Be able to correct, in simple language, the misunderstandings your friends have about the church. Here’s an example: Friend: “Why do you worship Mary?” You: “We don’t! We reverence her. Because you know, here was this girl, just a kid really, and the angel came to her and said Surprise! You’re having a baby! And what did she do? She pondered it and she said, Well okay then. So we see her as an excellent model of being a Christian disciple—God says Surprise! And we say, Okay then. Plus, she carried God in her womb. Who else has done THAT?”
  • Liberate the oppressed, bring sight to the blind, heal the lame. In other words, be a good friend to those who are suffering, who are neglected, who are confused, who are wandering lost.
  • Live a life of integrity. “They’ll know we are Christians by our love.” Are you a kind person? Considerate? Fair? Honest? Inclusive? Do you try to live a life worthy of the calling you received at baptism? What’s your social life like? What kind of friends do you have? Do you respect your body? Do you respect other people’s bodies? Do you take moments for prayer and reflection? Do you live a ‘eucharistic’ life, a life of gratitude? Do you try to practice justice and charity? How do you spend your money? What kind of career are you seeking?  And so forth. There’s no bigger turn-off in religion than hypocrisy.

Rejoice! Again I say, rejoice! So said St. Paul. Or as a favorite author of mine, Timothy Radcliffe, OP has written: “There can be no preaching of the good news unless it springs from joy.” Our faith is Good News, so let’s live that way.

               

___________________________

Karen Soos
Associate Chaplain and Catholic Campus Minister
Davidson College
Campus Box 7196
Davidson NC 28035
704. 894. 2423