“We are meant to shine, as children do. We are born to manifest the glory of God that is within us.”
— Marianne Williamson
Recently a man named John Kralik, who wrote a book entitled A Simple Act of Gratitude, was highlighted in the national news. In this book and others which he wrote, Kralik expresses the importance of conveying thankfulness in a meaningful way. Though we are inundated with communication, our often paperless world of Twitter, Facebook, e-mail, etc., can leave us in a void of the impersonal and indifferent. Kralik counters this by stressing the personal touch to thanking others. I recall Mom telling us as children that there was nothing more important than to render thanks to the one who bore us gifts.
John Kralik states that there are four simple steps to thank others in a meaningful way:
1. Grab a pen and paper. Hand written notes make people feel special — it’s almost as if the person is in the room with you.
2. Be specific. Thank the person by identifying the gift and be sincere about what you specifically liked about it. For instance, “You must have known that Harold’s Inn was my favorite restaurant when you gave me a gift card there!”
3. Dig into the past. In addition to those close to you from day to day, perhaps there is someone who helped you at a critical junction in your life in years passed. For instance, a doctor who relieved your pain after consulting many other physicians. Or parents, whose many sacrifices are appreciated by a young adult in college. Sending a note even many years after the gift can be a special blessing to another.
4. Keep it short. The message you convey doesn’t need to be complicated or eloquent. Just three or four sentences will do fine. Keep the focus on the thank you and the other person’s kindness and goodness.
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Epiphany (meaning “revelation”). On this twelfth day of Christmas we remember the Magi or Wise Men who were led by a star to the birthplace of the Christ Child, as they bore gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh in thanksgiving. The Wise Men rejoiced with uncontainable joy and broke out in profuse gratitude in offering their precious gifts. They gave the best gifts for God: Gold is a symbol of royalty. Incense conveys the perfumed aroma of Christ from the small hidden grains of aromatic material placed upon burning charcoal. (Similarly, we incense the altar, the Gospel book, the Cross and the Crèche during this holy season. And certainly, we use incense for funerals.) The Kings presented myrrh because Jesus took on our human weakness and was burdened with our sorrows. Myrrh reminds us of the passion of the Lord, when on the Cross, He was offered wine, mingled with myrrh. I can remember growing up that if there was a particular food we as children did not like, an event we preferred not to attend, or a prolonged sickness that we found unpleasant, Mom would always say, “Offer it up!” Mortification, if it is well received, purifies us like gold in the fire.
As we begin the New Year, it’s good to be reminded that coming to Mass on Sunday is the best way we can thank God for the good gifts he gives to us, namely: Himself, life, family, friends, sacraments, Church, faith, love. At Mass, time and eternity intersect. It is part of God’s plan for our salvation that we are able to meet Him directly and receive His grace through His sacraments to grow in holiness, virtue, integrity and union with Him.
Fr. Patrick Peyton, the great rosary priest, instructed the world with his motto, “The family that prays together, stays together.” He advocated making a rosary daily. In growing up with a family of seven children, going to Mass on Sunday was about as optional as breathing. To miss Mass was to stop breathing. It is a sure path to spiritual asphyxiation. The way we celebrate Mass will affect the way we live the remainder of the week. And it is the mark of our Christian identity from generation to generation. There are places in the world today such as Egypt, China, North Korea, Iraq, Sudan, Saudi Arabia and countless other areas, where Catholics risk their lives and travel hours to attend a Sunday Mass. Thankfully we are not put in jeopardy when we worship and attend Mass at our local parish. By and large, the vast majority of us can walk down the street or make a short drive to our beloved parish. Recently, Cardinal Lavada who took over the then Cardinal Ratzinger’s position as the Prefect for the Congregation of the Faith, stated that if he could say one thing to the whole world, it would be, “Without Sunday, we cannot live.”
I loved what San Francisco Archbishop George H. Niederauer said in his homily on Christmas Midnight Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral. He said that the deepest kind of homelessness is the homelessness of unbelief. Through unbelief, we stumble along blindly, lost; we are consumed with ourselves. He continued, “We cannot receive or return God’s love unless we share daily and concretely with one another, especially with those most in need of our loving. ... When we stand up to profess our faith we will not declare that our deepest faith is in the President, or the Congress, or the state legislature, or the stock exchange, or the cost-of-living-index, or the armed forces, or social security. Instead, we will proclaim that our deepest faith is in the Father who created us, in the Son, born at Bethlehem and crucified and risen at Jerusalem who redeemed us, and in the Holy Spirit, who fills us with the life of the Father and the Son and unites as a living Church.”
There is no doubt with our Pittsburgh Steelers playing a Wild Card game with the Denver Broncos, and having been victorious with six Vince Lombardi trophies, victorious Super bowls, with parties and parades, we certainly know how to celebrate. But wouldn’t it be great if people could say of Pittsburgh that we know how to celebrate the greatest victory of all -- Jesus’ victory over sin and death? Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, has designated October 2012-November 2013, marking the 50th anniversary of Vatican Council II, the “Year of Faith.” Our presence at Mass is a sign to each other of the gift and importance of family in our lives. Christian discipleship is never a “solo flight.” It is a life-long family pilgrimage. To find our way to God’s house each Sunday brings immeasurable blessing to us and others.
