The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1955-11-18
Just Among Ourselves
Passing Comment Considered or ineonsidsrais

perhaps our oldest national observance. A COM
mendabe observance it is, too. There is some
thing manifestly right and reasonable in the
fact that people people should have set
time for grateful recognition of their continuing
and deepening Indebtedness to the Gver of all
good gifts.
The attitude of thankfuIness is the only sane
attitude rational creature maintain towards
life Each human person is wholly dependent
upon God for existence not gift once gwen,
but as gift constantly renewed; not as bene-
fit conferred long ago and worthy to be remem-
bered with gratitude but as Wondrous good be-
slowed this minute and here and now TO
be received with heartfelt thanks. For we depend
absolutely upon God for every breath, for every
heartbeat.
To recognize our essential and complete de-
pendence upon God is merely to accept plain
truth. And there is no way of accepting this
truth except by the appreciation which is called
gratitude. As the benefit bestowed is constant,
gratitude should be continuous. Not for day or
an hour must we be grateful to God; must
always be grateful The whole pattern and con-
duct of each life should be cast in the atmos
phere and posture of gratitude, and frequently in
every day OF his existence should person rem
der conscious thanks to God by thought and
word.
God are not like the birthday remembrances and
the Christmas gifts we have from friends and
relatives Such things call for gratitude of
course. But these gifts are woven as cleaning
and occasional threads into the fabric of life
Gods gifts make up the whole fabric itself in
all that is positive and valuable. NO moment
of life no item of existence, but imparts tremen-
dous benefit and imposes the obligation oil
thankfulness.
Therefore every day ought to be Thanksgiv
ing Day for each of the children of God. But
nations or peoples are not persons of larger
growth Nations or peoples only unions of
individuals finding the fulfillment Of natural
need for civil society 1t is right and reasonable
that nation or a people such should have
formal and official festival of public thanks
giving to God for the favor of His provident
care We should as. a people, have Thanksgiv-
ing Day in grateful recognition of "the Power
that has made and preserves us nation
Our official Thanksgiving Day is national
institution. Perhaps il is most national, most
American in this fact: that the proclamation
which establishes it, and indicates it year after
year is not Federal Decree, but decree stimuli
taneously made by the States seyerally; decree
enacted, not by our President, but by our forty
eight governors pI,ribuS un'tm,-nether for
getting the unity nor dsregarding the plurality,
--lS Hclc gwen pioSdSei SHPiS''i""'
II is usual to trace the origin of our Thanks
giving Day to the quasi-mythical Pilgrims, those
stern faced lads with immaculate linen and pic
turesque blunderbusSes, whose true history has
largely given place to illustrations in our school
books and poems by H. w. Longfellow and Mrs.
Felicia Hemans. Perhaps we do owe this Thanks
giving Observance to the Pilgrims. Perhaps,
rather we owe il TO the circumstances which
embamed, one Pilgrim practice while con-
signing many others TO burial, Whatever Its
origin, il is good thing,
IL is a good thing to have Thanksgiving Day
as national institution even though many, or
most of the nations citizens use it an
sion for personal enjoyment and not at all for
personal rendering of thanks to God for national
blessings Ii is something If citizens are not alien
to the spirit of the day, although they may
scarcely advert to that spirit Just so, Ii is worth
while to observe independence Day, although
nine out of ten citizens think more OF baseball
or golf on that day than Of the emergence OF
the United States nation There is some
thing of national awarenesS in the very air of
July a. something of patriotism and loyalty, which
a citizen breatheS in even as he focuses on
base-runner or an approach shot And so there
is something of nations thanks TO God IN
the (non.Pilgrm, non.PuritanicaD atmosphere
of Thanksgiving Day, which citizen breathes in,
even as his attention fixes on drumstick with
little white meat on the side.
Nay, the spirit of national thanksgiving to
God endures in the citizen who reads the edi-
torias especially written for this day For the vague
and muzzy character of most of these editorials
is thing to make the average reader pour out
imprecations on the writer rather than words
of thanks to the mysterious Providence which
permits the writer to survive. Your editorial
writer,-take him by-and-arge, as the sailors
SAYS decidedly shy Of naming God He is full
OF wonderful words about the duty of giving
thanks and about the sweetly pleasing action
of thanksgiving, but he fades off into fog and
obseurty when il comes to naming the Being
that is to be thanked
Now the normal human being cannot work
up an ardor for giving thanks at large He
not know gift or favor in true value without
knowing something of the person who has be-
slowed it; he cannot feel thankful without
awareness of someone To be thanked We speak
of returning thanks" but how is a return to be
made if there is no one to be turned to? Thanks
giving without reference to the Giver of Gifts Is
action in vacuum il means nothing; 1t accom-
plishes nothing.
Nav nation, with the direct and business
like clarity of the Catholic grace after meals,