Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be– That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks….
From the Thanksgiving Proclamation of President and Brother George Washington, 3 October 1789, designating 26 November 1789 as a Day of Thanksgiving,
This coming Thursday, 23 November 2023, we in the United States will pause and gather together to give thanks to the Lord God Almighty for all that He has given to us. In other nations, it is celebrated earlier in the fall–often late September or early October–as a time to give thanks for a fruitful harvest and other gifts which have been received by God’s people from His gracious bounty.
This week, as I write this message, I find special reasons to give thanks. First, to God for all that He has indeed given to me–family, friends, employment, vocation, and so much more, but especially His grace, freely given and fully underserved on my part. I also give thanks for the gift of skilled surgeons and medical professionals who have skillfully replaced a knee for my sister and repaired a completely ruptured Achilles tendon for my wife, and a special prayer of thanks for the therapists who work with both of these special ladies as they are on the road to recovery.
I also give thanks for each of you, and for every Brother, Companion, and Knight whom I have had the pleasure of meeting during this Triennium as well as those whom I shall meet in the weeks and months to come. You join countless others with whom I have shared thoughts, joys, pain, and celebrations over the last 41 years as I have traveled in foreign lands and earned my wages. God has placed each of us in one another’s lives for a reason–one which we may or may not know, but one which is clearly important enough that we have been drawn together.
As my American Fratres pause to mark this coming holiday, I hope that you will take an extra moment to offer a prayer of thanksgiving for this great Fraternity and the gifts which you have received from being associated with it and with the great men who have preceded us and, by the grace of God, shall follow us. Pray for your Masonic leaders–local, national, and international–and for their families, that they may be guided by the power of the Holy Spirit and protected by God’s holy angels as they travel and work for our Order in so many places.
To those for whom this coming Thursday is just “Thursday,” I pray you have a blessed and fulfilling day, and that no ill befalls you as you exercise your God-given vocation. I also encourage you to pause at some time during the day, collect your own thoughts, and give thanks to God Almighty for all that He has given to you.
Finally, my brothers in Christ, pray for peace. Peace in our homes, our nations, and in places far from us. Pray that the tenets of our Order–brotherly love, relief, and truth–might become known to all men and may they be adopted not just as a slogan but as a way of life. May we, and especially our brothers in other lands whom might be in harm’s way, stand as exemplars and beacons of truth and light to the world.
I bid you all the blessings of God our Father. May the grace which comes to us through His only begotten Son rest upon you, and may the power of the Holy Spirit uplift you and guide you as you live your vows in your daily life.
Until next week, I remain your grateful Frater and co-worker in Christ.Image courtesy PonderingLife.blog.