Food for the Soul | November 25th, 2020

11/25/2020 

 

Dear Friends, 

 

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“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 

Kyle Picha