My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE. Ο ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΕΝ ΤΩ ΜΕΣΩ ΗΜΩΝ! ΚΑΙ ΗΝ ΚΑΙ ΕΣΤΙ ΚΑΙ ΕΣΤΑΙ.
OUR THANKSGIVING TO OUR LORD GOD, FATHER, SON AND HOLY SPIRIT
"We give thanks to Thee, O King invisible, Who by Thy boundless power, has formed all things, and by the fullness of Thy mercy has brought forth all things from nothing into being. Do Thou Thyself, O Master, look down from Heaven upon those who have bowed their heads unto Thee. For they have bowed down not before flesh and blood, but unto Thee, the Almighty God. Do Thou, therefore, O Master, administer these Offerings to all of us for our benefit according to the individual need of each. Do Thou travel with those who travel by sea, by land and air, heal the sick, Thou Who are the Physician of our souls and bodies."
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"It is meet and right to hymn Thee, to bless Thee, to praise Thee, to give thanks unto Thee, and to worship Thee in every place of Thy dominion. For Thou art God ineffable, inconceivable, invisible, incomprehensible, ever existing and eternally the same, Thou and Thy Only-Begotten Son and Thy Holy Spirit. Thou did bring us into being out of nothing, and when we had fallen away did raise us up again, and did not cease to do all things until Thou had brought us back to heaven, and had endowed us with Thy Kingdom which is to come. For all these things we give thanks to Thee, and to Thy Only-Begotten Son, and Thy Holy Spirit, for all things, we know and we do not know, for the benefits conferred upon us, both seen and unseen. We render thanks to Thee also for this liturgy which Thou dost deign to receive from our hands, although there stand beside Thee thousands of Archangels and myriads of Angels, the Cherubim and the Seraphim, six-winged, many-eyed, soaring aloft on wings."
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Σέ υμνούμεν, Σέ ευλογούμεν, Σοί ευχαριστούμεν, Κύριε, και δεόμεθα Σου, ο Θεός ημών.
"We praise Thee, we bless Thee, we give thanks to Thee, O Lord, and we pray to Thee, O Our God."
[The above prayers are taken from the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom]
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
[After receiving Holy Communion]
"I thank Thee, O Lord my God, that Thou has not rejected me, a sinner, but has deemed me worthy to be a partaker of Thy Holy Things. I thank Thee that Thou has deemed me, who am unworthy, worthy to participate in Thy sacred and heavenly gifts. And, O Merciful Master, Who did die for us and rise again and bestow upon us these Thy fearful and Life-Giving Mysteries (Sacraments) for the well-being and sanctification of our souls and bodies, grant that these may be to me for the healing of my soul and body, for the averting of everything hostile, for the enlightenment of the eyes of my heart (nous), for peace to my spiritual powers, for faith which maketh not ashamed, for love unfeigned, for the plenitude of wisdom, for the fulfillment of Thy Commandments, for the aid of Thy Divine grace and the inheritance of Thy Kingdom; that protected by Them in Thy Holiness I may never live unto myself but unto Thee our master and Savior. And so when I have struck off from existence here, in the hope of eternal life, I may attain to everlasting rest, where the song of them that keep festival is unceasing and the joy is endless of those who behold the ineffable beauty of Thy Countenance. For Thou, O Christ Our God, are that which is truly sought for, and the unutterable gladness of those that love Thee; and all creation praiseth Thee forever. Amen."
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ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE
"Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?" (St. Luke 17:17). This is what Jesus asks in verse 17 after He heals the ten lepers in the Holy Gospel. He says this because only one of the ten lepers returned to Jesus, glorified Him and gave Him thanks for healing him from leprosy. The Gospel lesson emphasizes the importance of thanksgiving, being thankful, having an attitude of gratitude. The word Eucharist comes from the Greek word "eucharistia" which literally means 'thanksgiving'.
However, because we live in a fallen and corrupt world in which our humanity is corrupted by evil and sin, thanksgiving does not come naturally. It is not an immediate response to God's blessings. Instead of cultivating gratitude, we often do the exact opposite by whining and always complaining. How many of us even bother to take the time to count our numerous blessings? And, unfortunately, if we do not think we are blessed then we will always walk around with a sense of entitlement, like somebody always owes us something.
In the Anaphora Prayer of the Divine Liturgy leading up to the consecration of the Holy Gifts, the celebrant priest, on behalf of the faithful prays: "For all these things we thank Thee and Your Only-Begotten Son and Your Holy Spirit; for all things that we know and do not know, for blessings seen and unseen that have been bestowed upon us. Yet, what do we do? When God showers us with blessings, we seldom look up to Him and say, "Why me, Lord?" But when a stone falls on our life, we always look up and complain, "Why me, Lord?" "Where are the nine?"
President Lincoln speaking on Thanksgiving said, "The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart, which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful Providence of Almighty God..."
In Ephesians the holy Apostles Paul writes, "And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God" (Ephesians 5:18-21).
A BLESSED THANKSGIVING TO ALL OF YOU!
With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia,
+Father George