Food for the Soul | November 25th, 2020
11/25/2020
Dear Friends,
“Rejoice always and pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). In the last few days I have been reading a lot about gratitude and I have come to the conclusion that gratitude is an attitude, one that can be learned and incorporated into one’s being so that it is always present. St. Paul tells us to give thanks in all circumstances. He does not say give thanks for all circumstances. I believe that little distinction is of utmost importance in our current times. I don’t want to give thanks for the virus and the pandemic, but even in this pandemic I can be grateful. We are being challenged by so many negative forces these days, and yet it is possible to remain grateful in them and through them. “Gratitude is an attitude” is my new mantra.
Thanksgiving will be very different this year. However you celebrate it, I hope it will be joyous and safe, with lots of distancing and masks; may your hearts be overflowing with gratitude for what is, and with openness to whatever may come our way in the future. As we begin the season of Advent this Sunday, remember the word “Emanuel” – God with us.
I thank you all for journeying with me week after week.
PRAYER
Grace
Rafael Jesús González
Thanks & blessing be
to the Sun & the Earth
for this bread & this wine,
this fruit, this meat, this salt,
this food;
thanks be & blessing to them
who prepare it, who serve it;
thanks &blessing to them
who share it
(& also the absent & the dead.)
Thanks & blessing to them who bring it
(may they not want),
to them who plant & tend it,
harvest & gather it,
(may they not want);
thanks & blessing to them who work
& blessing to them who cannot;
may they not want – for their hunger
sours the wine
& robs the salt of its taste.
Thanks be for the sustenance & strength
for our dance & the work of justice, of peace.
Gracias
Rafael Jesús González
Gracias y benditos sean
el Sol y la Tierra
por este pan y este vino,
esta fruta, esta carne, esta sal,
este alimento;
gracias y bendiciones
a quienes lo preparan, lo sirven
gracias y bendiciones
a quienes lo comparten
(y también a los ausentes y a los difuntos).
Gracias y bendiciones a quienes lo traen
(a que no les falte),
a quienes lo siembran y cultivan,
lo cosechan y lo recogen
(que no les falte);
gracias y bendiciones a los que trabajan
y bendiciones a los que no puedan;
que no les falte - su hambre
hace agrio el vino
y le roba el gusto a la sal.
Gracias por el sustento y la fuerza
para nuestro bailar y nuestra labor
por la justicia y la paz.
The poet offers this poem in both Spanish and English (two stanzas, if you will). Neither text is a translation of the other. He grew up bicultural/bilingual and consequently heir to two muses. He prefers to publish it as it was written, in both Spanish and English.
PRACTICE
Practice Gratitude
May I suggest that on Thanksgiving Day, before or after the turkey, you steal a few minutes to spend by yourself in silence. Light a candle, take a few deep breaths, close your eyes, and center yourself. After a few minutes of silence, however many feel comfortable to you, begin to think about the things you are grateful for: your breath, your beating heart, the particular shade of the sky at dusk or dawn, colors, the gifts and strengths you have, other people in your life, the ability to laugh. Be on the lookout for gratitude that may arise from unexpected sources. Say, “Thank you,” aloud or to yourself often. Have you discovered something new you are grateful for? Gently return to another minute of silence before returning to your regular activities.
POEM
Eagle Poem
To pray you open your whole self
to sky, to earth, to sun, to moon,
to one whole voice that is you.
And know there is more
that you can’t see, can’t hear;
Can’t know except in moments
steadily growing, and in languages
that aren’t always sound but other
circles of motion.
Like eagle that Sunday morning
over Salt River. Circled in blue sky
in wind, swept our hearts clean
with sacred wings.
We see you, see ourselves and know
that we must take the utmost care
and kindness in all things.
Breathe in, knowing we are made of
all this, and breathe, knowing
we are truly blessed because we
were born, and die soon within a
true circle of motion,
like eagle rounding out the morning
inside us.
We pray that it will be done
in beauty.
In beauty.
—Joy Harjo