Are you ready for Thanksgiving? I know you can’t wait. You’ll get 3 days off of school. You’ll get lots of good food. You’ll spend time with family. You might go shopping. It’ll really start feeling like Christmas. Are you ready?

But don’t forget what Thanksgiving is all about. It’s about everything God has given us. The Thankful Samaritan thanked Jesus both that He was healed and that His sins were forgiven. We thank God in view of The Second Commandment, which tells us we should give God thanks. Why should we give God thanks? All sorts of reasons! Let’s think of a few. Here’s some: your life and your body, your parents and siblings, your friends, your school and teachers and classmates, your pets and farm animals and even wild animals, our beautiful commonwealth and so much more. God The Father gives us everything we need for this life. He takes care of us. Let’s give Him thanks for it.

But Jesus gives us so much more. We don’t deserve anything from Him. All the bad stuff we do every day ought to convince Him to leave us alone. But He doesn’t. He died and rose for us. He’s won for us forgiveness, pardon, for all the wrongs we do every day. He gives us eternal life, a life far better than this one. His Holy Spirit gives us that pardon and life whenever we hear this message of what He did for us. So this Thanksgiving Day, give God thanks that He cares for your body and life, that Jesus died and rose for you, and that your sins are forgiven and you have eternal life. And check out sometime what The Catechism says with The Creed and The Lord’s Prayer about all the gifts God gives us!