Thanking God for Endings and Beginnings

Today we begin the last week of Ordinary Time with the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe; and next weekend we will begin a new liturgical year with the First Sunday of Advent. As autumn fades into winter, the Church draws our attention to endings and new beginnings.

Our first reading is a prophesy: One like a Son of Man comes on the clouds of heaven and receives from God “dominion, glory and kingship; all peoples, nations and languages serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed” (Daniel 7: 13-14). This is, of course, a prophesy about Jesus. Are you ready for it to be fulfilled? As our world seems to be getting more and more crazy, I’m eager to begin our Advent prayer, “Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus!” But, as Jesus warned us in last week’s gospel, no one knows the day nor the hour when He will come to put an end to the old world and bring about the new; no one knows except the Father (Mark 13: 32). So at this time every year, the Church invites us to prepare for endings and beginnings, whenever they may happen. 

How shall we prepare? This Solemnity of Christ the King calls us all to welcome Jesus Christ as King of our hearts. Don’t be afraid of this because He is not like the other kings of this world. As He tells us today, “My kingdom does not belong to this world” (John 18:36). The kings of this world build their kingdoms on power and military might. But Jesus builds his kingdom through peace and loving service. If we let Him be the King of our hearts, then we will treat others with the same peace and love.  

Another way we can embrace this time of endings and beginnings is through our observance of Thanksgiving. This week I invite you to think about the past year, or years, and give thanks to God. Thanksgiving is a secular holiday which is rooted in the religious faith of those first European pilgrims. They were not just expressing thanks for each other, or the land, or the sun and the rain; they were thanking God whom they believed was the source of all these things. And they did so by sharing a feast. The Catholics among them surely made the connection with the Mass, since the word “Eucharist” means thanksgiving. 

So, in this last week of Ordinary Time, I encourage you to spend some time in prayer, looking back on the blessings of your past. Maybe even write them down in your journal. Then, in a very personal way, give thanks to God who is the source of all our blessings. 

Even those difficult things which have been challenging to deal with can be opportunities for growth. The sufferings we endure in this life can be like the pains of a woman in labor (cf. John 16:21). Let us pray for one another that God will grant us grace to endure our present trials. And let us give thanks to God even during our trials, trusting that He is bringing about something new and wonderful within us. 

This year at Thanksgiving dinner, I encourage you to go one step beyond just sharing with each other the things for which you are thankful. Dare to spend some time together in prayer expressing your thanksgiving to God. One way to do that is to celebrate Mass together on Thanksgiving Day at 8:30 am. If you are not comfortable sharing prayers of thanksgiving at dinner with your extended family, I encourage you to do so with your immediate family, or with your partner. And if you find yourself alone on Thanksgiving Day, make it a day of prayer, giving thanks to God the Father through Jesus, in the Holy Spirit. Thanking God for the things of the past builds our trust that He will provide for our future. For He is “the One who was and who is and who is to come” (Revelation 1: 8). He is within, above and beyond all of our endings and beginnings. Thanks be to God!