A blessed thanksgiving to everyone. Let us give thanks to God, not only for what He has given us, but let us give thanks to God for who He is, for His glory, and for the gift of His love.
As we come together, we look at one another , we also look to one another. We can look at one another in the way of envy of what they have or who they are. Alternatively we can look to Him and give thanks for those who are around us. Many people recall the story of the "first thanksgiving"* wherein Squanto, some of his fellow natives, and the Pilgrims had come together to celebrate a big feast. Partially a feast as a means of giving thanks to Squanto who has taught the Pilgrims where to hunt, and how to cultivate crops, but also as a means of the pilgrims having found a new home. The pilgrims, who were puritans, had fled England from the persecution of the Anglican Church, as the Anglicans and the Calvinists had little to agree upon, but also in an attempt to flee the Catholics in Europe as the Calvinists had even less to agree upon with the Catholics. And yet, the pilgrims were saved that difficult time in the year by a Catholic. A Catholic named Squanto. Take a look as Fr. Mike Schmitz, associated with Ascension Press, explains.
* The real first thanksgiving, or at least the first well documented** one, happen roughly 48 years before that of the pilgrims. When the Spaniards landed in, what is now St. Augustine, Fl, the first thing the Spaniards did was to set up the altar for the priest so that he could celebrate the Mass, and offer the Eucharist to God for their safe passage and landing. The Eucharist is the Greek term for Thanksgiving. The first Mass in the continental United States was the first thanksgiving.
** There are some records of a mass being celebrated by two Dominican Priest in a location they called San Miguel de Gualdape, a place that will become the Spanish colony in what is now called Georgetown, South Carolina, but the location of where they celebrated the mass is not known for sure. Some records indicate that it could have been celebrated in the harbor nearby, other records state that it was celebrated there in the colonial boundaries of San Miguel de Gualdape. The records for this even do show that it happened another 39 years prior to the mass in St. Augustine. There were several expeditions to the continental U.S. where various Dominican priests had tried to celebrate the mass but was either unable to find safe harbor, or were kept away from land by the various Native Tribes attacking from the shore. Many of the points of launch for these expeditions came from the colonies in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Eventually, the Spaniards were able to establish a foothold in the south-east U.S. and were able, with the help of friendly Native tribesmen to navigate their way to various safe harbors, including going up the Mississippi River to celebrate Mass on Mississippi land.
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