Today is
Thanksgiving Day, which is such a uniquely American holiday. Today is a day to be thankful for all of God’s
gifts to: your family, your friends, your home, the abundance of food, and
perhaps all the material things we have available and at our fingertips. The source of all is our Creator, and we
should be grateful and thankful.
I was
reading this passage last night in St. Augustine’s Confessions from Book Nine.
Augustine’s mother Monica, who prayed for his soul no matter what
throughout Augustine’s pagan and dissolute years, has recently seen his
conversion. Shortly after this joy in
her life, Monica (who will also be canonized a saint) catches a fever and within nine days dies. Augustine offers this prayer of thanks and
for her soul, which I found very touching and apt for today’s feast.
Book Nine,
Chapter 13, Paragraph 35:
So it is, Praise and my Life, God of my heart, that I set aside for a
little her good actions, for which I give thanks to you with rejoicing, and
pray to you for my mother’s sins. Hear
my prayers, through the Healing of our wounds, who hung on a tree, who sitting
at the right hand of the Father, intercedes for us. I know that she dealt mercifully, and forgave her debtors from her heart;
forgive her what debts she gave up in all those years after she was washed in
the saving waters. Forgive, Lord, forgive, I pray.
Enter not into judgement with
her. Let
mercy triumph over judgement, for your sayings are true, and you have
promised mercy to the merciful. That
they are merciful is your gift also; you who have mercy to those to whom you will have mercy, and are merciful to those
to whom you will grant mercy.
-Phillip
Burton translation, Everyman Library.
Augustine is
thankful for all his mother did for him, and goes on to pray for God to have
mercy on her. And in that last sentence
we see that Augustine sees God having mercy as a gift too.
So today,
among your many blessings, be additionally thankful for your mother and for God’s
mercy.
Thank you Manny for this most wonderful post.
ReplyDeleteHappy Thanksgiving to you and your family.
So beautiful.
ReplyDeleteHope your day was a good one!
Good thoughts for any season.
ReplyDeleteThank you all. I do hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
ReplyDelete