With Thanksgiving weekend upon us, a common tradition around this holiday is to express your gratitude for all the various areas of your life. It’s a popular time for reflection, a time to take inventory of the blessings we have in our lives. In keeping with this theme of gratitude, I would like to encourage the parishioners of Saint Benedict to not only express their gratitude, but to incorporate the sentiment of gratitude into action. Here are some ways in which we can honour Thanksgiving through our actions:

Showing Gratitude Towards Your Community

Food insecurity is sadly a reality for many Nova Scotians and is becoming more and more prevalent in recent years. There are many outreach programs that could benefit from donations or your time as a volunteer:

• The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul operates in many parishes in our Archdiocese. They operate two outreach ministries: Hope Cottage, a soup kitchen in downtown Halifax, as well as Hand in Hand, a thrift store in Spryfield.

• Did you know that our parish collects non-perishable donations for the food bank? The box for these donations is down the main stairs on the right. Consider taking some items from your pantry, or picking up some items while grocery shopping to add to the box when you arrive for Mass.

• The Brunswick Street Mission reported that in August, they served 412 households, which is their highest number ever.

Pay It Forward 

Random acts of kindness can be an easy way to honour others. On your next drive-through trip, you could pay for the person in line behind you. Or you could grab an extra snack to treat a coworker with. These small surprises can be a wonderful experience for an unknowing person.

Expand The Celebration

While it may be last minute, consider extending an invite for someone to join you at your Thanksgiving table. You could gather together with friends and family outside of just your household. There may even be parishioners who will be alone for the holiday, unable to celebrate with relatives, so an invitation to join could be an incredible act of love for them.

Show Gratitude Through Quality Time 

Giving your time to someone is a simple way to show your appreciation. Invite a friend to go out for a walk, come over and watch a TV show, or even enjoy a famous ===Nova Scotian sunset over a cup of coffee. Time together shows how you are grateful for their company and their presence in your life.

Generational Involvement

Don’t limit the act of showing gratitude to just yourselves. Encourage your kids to think of friends and neighbors that they could show gratitude to. Talk about the importance of being thankful, and how they could show that in their daily lives. 

Writing letters to frontline workers (like soldiers overseas, medical staff, etc.) is a meaningful way for kids to get involved in seeing what others do for us and how we can thank them for it. 

Remember that God is working in you to bless you and to have you bless others. “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” — Philippians 2:13

Happy Thanksgiving!