A Thanksgiving message from our Provincial Director Fr. Jeffrey Kirch, C.PP.S.

This year has been a real struggle for so many people. It has been both a year of upheaval and a year of being stuck-in-place. Many people are worried about their health or their finances, or both.

It might be tempting to slip into a chronic state of frustration or despair. Yet the underlying message of Thanksgiving has not changed. We thank God for the blessings in our lives, both for the good times that lift us up, and for the challenges that test us. These challenging times help us sort out, in a way that times of peace and plenty seldom do, who we really are as people. What do we value? What are our values? In what ways do we need to change and adjust to the times? Which of our beliefs should remain unchanged?

On this Thanksgiving, my prayer is that we still find a way to share what we have with those who need it, that we still reach out in some way to our family, that we define family in the broadest possible terms, and that we spend some time in prayer to thank the God who gives us, each day, something to be thankful for.

Missionaries of the Precious Blood