It is raining outside. I saw it when I first woke up and stumbled downstairs about twenty minutes ago to find coffee made for me as usual. Just now the rain started in earnest, easily heard on the roof and the pavement. So how shall I respond? I could say: “What a dismal day! I wish I could go back to bed! Why couldn’t we have just a little sunshine on Thanksgiving Day!” But things are moving along already in the kitchen…and (truth be told) I would love to go out and walk in the rain!
We have come through what has likely been the most tragic period of life in our world. It isn’t over yet but soon there will be a vaccine – or two or three! – that we hope will eradicate the virus that has been decimating the world population. Yesterday we heard a voice of hope from our next President urging us to come together as who we are: “the United States of America.” Within the past five minutes the phone in our kitchen rang bringing a sung wish from across the country in Albuquerque for our amazing Liz whose birthday we celebrate today and a picture appeared from my dear friend and colleague whose first and only grandson is smiling out at me from the internet. He will have a new brother or sister by summer!
There will be many such connections today, even though we are still needful of caution in dealing with the virus that has ravaged the world. I will pray throughout the day in thanksgiving especially for those who care for the sick, for those who are bringing us a vaccine, for people whose major activity today will be serving free meals at innumerable venues throughout the country, for the Sisters of St. Joseph who have been my life companions for 54 years and are beginning a new chapter in our life together as of last Saturday, for my family members whose voices I expect to hear on the telephone (and maybe see on a zoom call…) and for so much more. May we all give thanks for the great and the small blessings of our lives and come to know in an ever-deeper way the love that undergirds our lives.
Let us give thanks for all good gifts today. Happy Thanksgiving!
I’m happy this morning for a tiny bit of good news: The Boston Red Sox won the World Series last night! (Sorry, I was born and half-raised in Newton, a suburb of Boston, and it’s generally impossible to get that heritage out of a girl!) I consider, however, as I revel in that news, how complex we are – able to entertain that kind of celebratory feeling at the same time as sensing such anguish for the people of Pittsburgh who are suffering the heinous crime of the Tree of Life Synagogue massacre. One hardly knows how to hold it all, especially because the murder of those innocent people follows on the heels of two other incidents of senseless killing in the same week. Things seem to be devolving into a deeper darkness with each day’s news. The questions now come from a place of near-frozenness: When and where does this stop? What will it take to cause a course change?
The psalmist is “waxing eloquent” this morning. As Psalm 8 rings in my inner sight, I recall the beautiful blue sky and sunshine of yesterday afternoon as I drove and sang with the accompaniment of longtime liturgical musicians whose music always stirs me to praise. This weekend was well begun last evening (see yesterday’s post) with a sellout crowd for our communal “walk down memory lane.” I look forward to a full day of enthusiastic sharing in words toward a hopeful future and feelings of gratitude for what we have been given throughout our history from our roots in 17th century France to worldwide service in love of God and neighbor.
I’m looking out at serious snow this morning…as promised by meteorologists whose forecasts seem to be more frequently correct these days. Perhaps their instruments truly are quite improved. They couldn’t have missed this one though. It appears that the storm is affecting most of the Midwest all the way to the East Coast. And the flu remains rampant.
Today I sit staring at a blank page, feeling a bit empty, as happens sometimes on the Monday after an important holiday. While I was not counted in the millions of people who took to the road or the sky over the weekend to be with faraway relatives or friends (the return trip perhaps not concluded yet), the Thanksgiving holiday just concluded seemed to me to hold more energy than usual in the wishes of “Happy Thanksgiving!” shared sincerely among friends and strangers alike. Maybe we needed some distraction from all the distress of our country and the world that made us try harder to find the joy of sharing. Maybe it was just the slowing down and relaxing together that pervaded our household. Whatever the source, I feel the need to regroup today so that I will live consciously throughout the wonderful season of Advent leading to Christmas. As the world turns from another beginning to a conclusion marked by the calendar of feasting and celebrations, I am heartened and challenged by Thomas Merton’s words to wake up and get about this new day.
Santa Claus arrived with a flourish yesterday at the culmination of the Thanksgiving Day parade in NY City. He was quite animated, bouncing and waving in all directions to announce that the run-up to Christmas had begun. Although Hallmark movies had been filling the airwaves with Christmas carols since sometime in October, now it’s official and very serious. The internet is awash with advertisements for all kinds of amazing discounts on products and services. I heard on the national news last night that even airline ticket prices are slashed “for a limited time.” What began as a day-long opportunity for deep price reductions on the day after Thanksgiving has been running for a week already, but is still named, ironically, Black Friday.