A Time to Give Thanks and be with Family

Autumn — A time to give thanks and be with family

The Catholic faith exists not so much to teach us extraordinary or unusual things but rather to instruct us how to sanctify ordinary things. A Catholic life well lived will embrace the whole of life, from our most profound thinking to the simplest acts of eating, loving, working, and celebrating. 

One of these ordinary things that the Church sanctifies and blesses is times and seasons. Year after year, we find ourselves repeating the rhythmic cycles of spring, summer, autumn and winter. Each of these seasons brings with it its own special mood that produces something deep and intangible in the soul. 

Autumn is no exception. I know I’m not alone in my special affection for fall, with its crisp air, falling leaves and pink-orange sunsets, and I’ve heard many others express that it is their favorite season as well. The fall mood is one of a sort of melancholy joyfulness, as we not only say goodbye to the heat and radiating lushness of the Oklahoma summer but also look forward to the celebrations that warm the winter darkness. 
 

The Rhythm of the Liturgical Year

The church calendar accompanies us on this journey through the seasons, offering us countless opportunities to praise, bless and adore God with all of creation as we make our way through the cycle of the year. 

One of the first celebrations of autumn is the sort of triduum that is Halloween (All Hallows Eve), All Saints day, and All Souls day. The first, Halloween, was never an official church holiday in itself but took on a life of its own organically. Like most modern holidays, it has become increasingly commercialized, and it is the second highest revenue-generating holiday after Christmas. In its modern incarnation, it has largely become a mere celebration of terror, horror and all things shocking and perverse. Childish trick-or-treating has taken a back seat to haunted mazes and other nightmarish experiences.

Originally, however, it was a day to both make light of evil, showing its ultimate powerlessness in the face of Christ’s resurrection, and to remember the dead. Traditional cultures had a much more profound sense of connection and gratitude to their ancestors than do modern individuals. This was not the same as ancestor worship. In Catholic cultures, it was a time to pray for the dead with loving remembrance. Thus, visiting a cemetery on All Hallows Eve was not originally a way to seek the paranormal or adrenaline-fueled thrills but rather a way to offer prayers for the faithful departed. 

All Saints Day, the next celebration, remembers the Church Triumphant: the holy souls of the saints who are, as the book of Revelation tells us, surrounding Christ’s throne and praising him unceasingly. These souls are both our powerful heavenly advocates and friends and the promise of our own ultimate destiny. For we, too, if we persevere in faith and good works, will someday join this glorious heavenly host.  

Finally, we celebrate All Souls Day, when we remember the Holy Souls in purgatory, also known as the Church Suffering. These souls are saved but are currently in the process of purification from the temporal punishment of their sins. They long to be united with God but are unable to help themselves attain this union. We, however, can help them with our prayers and sacrifices, which, united to the ultimate sacrifice of Christ, can heal them and free them from their suffering. 

Our modern minds don’t really like the idea of purgatory. We like to imagine that everyone goes straight to heaven immediately. Yet the constant witness of the Church is that purgatory is real and necessary. Catholics of earlier centuries took this reality very seriously, and on All Souls Day, they would offer prayers, sacrifices, Masses and other acts on behalf of the faithful departed. 

These holidays might at first glance seem somewhat gloomy, but they are not. They are ultimately filled with hope. Just as autumn is a melancholy time of things passing away and even dying, it is but a preparation for the coming of Christ at Christmas, followed by the sorrowful days of Lent and the joyful triumph of Easter in spring. 

In other words, the somber tone of All Saints and All Souls reminds us of the somber tone of fall. But these days also remind us that death is not the end but rather a season through which we all must pass and the expectation of something more beautiful and joyous than we can imagine. In the words of St. Paul, these autumn days call us “to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live sensible, upright and godly lives in the present age, as we await the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). 
 

Saved in Thanksgiving

That brings us to the next significant day in our fall journey: Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving, of course, is not a liturgical holiday at all. Nor is it a globally recognized day of celebration. It is a uniquely American holiday rooted in our common history and the joys of harvest time. Nevertheless, it is a beautiful day that calls to mind one of the key dimensions of the Catholic faith: gratitude. 

Many psychologists and self-help gurus are starting to notice the power of gratitude to improve your mood and mental health. Really, though, gratitude extends far beyond a happier outlook. It is essential to a truly spiritual life. While a full theological treatment of the importance of gratitude could be a book in itself, suffice it to say that thanksgiving is one of the most important things a creature can offer to its Creator. The preface of the Mass even says that thanksgiving is essential to our salvation: 

It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks, Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God, through Christ our Lord.

Yes, we are truly saved in thanksgiving, in offering a sacrifice of praise to God. The more grateful we are, the more we enter into a right relationship with God. So Catholics should have the most thankful of Thanksgiving feasts, for we are not only giving thanks for temporal blessings, but ultimately for the very gift of being. This Thanksgiving, then, let us truly, “lift up our hearts,” and praise and thank God for all he has bestowed on us, but also for enabling us to partake in His own Divine life through Christ present to us in the sacraments. 
 

A Few Closing Suggestions

Fall brings much to look forward to: family feasts, gold-orange leaves, mercifully cool weather and earlier sunsets. We’ve talked already about the meaning of the season, but I would like to close with a few suggestions on how to get the most out of your fall celebrations.

Keep them “Holy-Days”: The word “holiday” comes from the words “holy day.” There’s absolutely nothing wrong with trick-or-treating or a visit to a pumpkin farm. These things can be opportunities for many wonderful memories. But there’s also something beautiful about taking your family to a cemetery in November and praying psalms for the faithful departed in the golden light of an autumn sunset. It’s a wonderful, traditional practice, and to encourage us, the Church even offers us a plenary indulgence.

Another practice I recommend is going to Mass on Thanksgiving Day. What better way to sanctify a day of gratitude to God than with the ultimate Sacrifice of Praise that is the Mass? There are other ways of sanctifying our holidays, but the main point is to place these celebrations in the wider context of our faith, rather than only observing the secular dimension. 

Cultivate Togetherness: The past year or so has seen people increasingly isolated from their loved ones. The fall feasts and celebrations are a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with family, friends and loved ones. We need each other. Relationships are essential for our mental, physical and spiritual health, and any prolonged isolation does these great harm. Our Lord said, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in the midst of them.” This fall, let’s not only celebrate, but to the extent possible, let's strive to celebrate together. 

Avoid Acquisitiveness: Unfortunately, our society tells us the only way to really celebrate the fall and winter holidays is to buy things. Ironically, the very next day following our day of gratitude and thanksgiving is Black Friday — a day that has almost become a secular, semi-liturgical holiday in its own right. And it's a day that celebrates greed and getting rather than appreciating what we have received. While gifts and deals are fine in their place, let’s expand the focus of the holidays on what we can give, not on what we can get. Challenge the cultural narrative of consumerism with gifts — whether it be gifts of gratitude to God or donations to those in need. This will change the whole atmosphere of the autumn holidays. 

While much more can be said, I hope these reflections and suggestions can help you have a holy and happy Fall. It truly is a beautiful season with much to look forward to. So let us with full hearts and joyful voices join countless saints and our Catholic liturgy in saying: Deo gratias! Thanks be to God!