AMERICA/UNITED STATES - Thanksgiving: "Diverse as we are, we are united in the debt we owe to God"

Thursday, 24 November 2016 evangelization   episcopal conferences  

Washington (Agenzia Fides) - On the occasion of Thanksgiving, which is celebrated today, the President and the Vice President of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCBB), Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston, and the Archbishop of Los Angeles, His Exc. Msgr. José H. Gomez, just elected to this office by the recent Assembly of the Episcopate, offer a Thanksgiving message to the nation.
" On Thursday, November 24th, our nation will pause to give God thanks for the abundant blessings He has bestowed upon us. It is a grateful tradition people of many faiths have honored since even before our country's founding" begins the text, sent to Fides.
"In modern times, Thanksgiving has become a day when dispersed families come together again around the dinner table – they continue - In countless parishes, Thanksgiving is also a day of service as volunteers prepare a meal for those less fortunate. Let us pray for everyone separated from the abundance of our country that God may comfort them and opportunities may open for them to fully participate in the hope of America".
The message then invites especially to remember "the elderly and those who are in need, as well as anyone who may be spending the day alone. May they experience the closeness of God". The text concludes: "On Thanksgiving, millions of Americans, from big cities to rural countryside, will bow their heads to say grace. They will be successful and struggling, citizen and newcomer, sisters and brothers to us all. Diverse as we are, we are united in the debt we owe to God and our desire to give Him thanks!" (CE) (Agenzia Fides, 24/11/2016)


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