25 November 2015

The USA Holiday of Thanksgiving to God

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For Thanksgiving Day, The Book of Common Prayer 1928 (USA)

I pray God's blessings upon all those who celebrate the Thanksgiving Holiday of the USA — wherever you may be — and for the United States of America and her people I pray that they will realise from the very depths of their hearts that from the beginning of this holiday it was meant as an occasion to give THANKSGIVING TO GOD for Divine Providence and all Divine Blessings and Benefits given to us through Christ Jesus our Lord.  

It is not an occasion to eat lots and watch football though we are perfectly free to do so. It is not an occasion to get the best deals at the horrendously named Black Friday sales ... though one may choose to violate the very notion of a Holy-Day and go and buy on Thanksgiving Day itself.  However, this holiday —this Holy-Day— is all about God the Lord and his providential mercies and blessings poured out upon the nation and the people who make that nation what it is.

So, this Thanksgiving holiday, dear Americans, remember God, and keep your focus where it belongs i.e., in giving thanks to God for His mercies, blessings, and the abundance of the harvest and of the earth by which we are fed.

You should especially thank God for your personal blessings, and ask for His divine protection when the world is spinning inexorably toward world war.  Beg for His divine mercy for you, your family, your loved ones, your country, and this world we share.



Almighty and gracious Father, we give thee thanks for the fruits of the earth in their season and for the labours of those who harvest them. Make us, we beseech thee, faithful stewards of thy great bounty, for the provision of our necessities and the relief of all who are in need, to the glory of thy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. 
The Book of Common Prayer 1979, USA
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