The CatholiCity Message

Volume XVII, Number 11 – November 27, 2013

Dear CatholiCity Citizen,

As is our tradition, the CatholiCity Message for Thanksgiving will be shorter but no less sweet. Let us begin.

THE BEST HOLIDAY
I have always loved Thanksgiving, the Holiday America Invented. It successfully resists commercialization and it is primarily celebrated by family and friends gathering for a meal. God is thanked, yet it appeals even to the godless. A perfectly calibrated four-day vacation is frosting on the cake. Simple, powerful, since 1621, and to continue, Lord Willing, until He returns. Without irony, I am grateful for it, and grateful that you are a part of our work and our lives.

A THANKSGIVING PRAYER
I warmly invite you and tens of thousands of your fellow CatholiCity Citizens to join us in a prayer of thanksgiving I first composed exactly ten year ago. Perhaps all we need to do is recall what we are most thankful for in our own lives. Take your time. Ready? Let us begin in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit...

"Dear Father, help calm the distracting thoughts swirling around our minds so we can pray peacefully. Remind us that words alone are not gratitude. We open our hearts as we recall that You know us infinitely better than we can ever know ourselves. We are struck dumb, wordless, humbled, yet comforted by the faith you placed in our souls at our baptism, the friendship of your saints, the utterly reliable embrace of Mary, and the protection of Joseph. Yet we have nothing to offer but our silence as we wait for your word. O Father, what should we pray? Our prayer of thanksgiving is one word, one way, one truth, one life, one priest, one king, one man carrying us in His arms, bringing us into the very depths of the Holy Trinity. Our word of thanksgiving is: Jesus. Jesus, we whisper. Jesus, we long for You. Jesus, the tears well in our eyes. Jesus. You are our prayer. Thank you, Father. Amen."

THANKSGIVING QUOTE

"One act of thanksgiving when things go wrong with us is worth a thousand thanks when things are agreeable to our inclinations."
Saint John of Avila

UPCOMING FEASTDAYS
We'll be back soon with our annual Christmas Appeal, which kicks off on December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (believe me, you're going to love this year's thank you gift), so there are only a few feast days:

Tuesday, December 3. Saint Francis Xavier
Co-Patron of the Missions and original X Man!

Saturday, December 7, Saint Ambrose
Doctor of the Church, Bishop, teacher, writer, and composer, and also famous for having baptized Saint Augustine, which means he knew Saint Monica. Now there's a Troika!

If you are separated from family for any reason (military duty, especially) know that we will be praying for you at Mass. Now, let's eat.

With Immaculate Mary,

Bud Macfarlane
Founder