Thanksgiving - The proper way to Thank God from His own words in His own Book.
Lesson from the Book of Wisdom - Ecclus. 51, 1-12
I will give glory to Thee, O Lord my King, and I will praise Thee, O God my Saviour.
I will give glory to Thy name: for Thou hast been a helper and protector to me, and hast preserved my body from destruction, from the snare of an unjust tongue, and from the lips of them that forge lies; and in the sight of them that stood by, Thou hast been my helper; and Thou hast delivered me, according to the multitude of the mercy of Thy name, from them that did roar, prepared to devour. Out of the hands of them that sought my life, and from the gates of afflictions which compassed me about from the oppression of flame which surrounded me, and in the midst of the fire I was not burnt; from the depth of the belly of hell, and from an unclean tongue, and from lying words, from an unjust king, and from a slanderous tongue; My soul shall praise the Lord even to death; because Thou, O Lord, our God, deliverest them that wait for Thee, and savest them out of the hands of the nations.
This old sinner has a lot to be Thankful for, especially in the last two years.
The battle for the hearts, minds and souls of men rages on throughout history, but at no time except perhaps when Jesus Christ walked this earth, has society been more depraved and in danger of eternal punishment.
I am reminded of the persecution of the Christians in the Coliseum by Nero, when the depraved citizens of Rome, who were drunk with free bread and circuses cried out for the blood of the Christians, while those under sentence of death sang hymns to God for their final deliverance from this world of sin and death, and looked forward to an eternity of happiness with Him in heaven.
The radical left reminds me of those citizens of Rome who were emboldened by their depraved leader Nero, and who were so dissolute that they demanded to be entertained by the excruciating deaths of their fellow citizens, and who reveled and cheered when the lions tore them to pieces. How evil and perverted they were.
Like those who revel in theft under the color of law to "spread the wealth around" and like those who think that government owes them a living because "they are poor", not caring for a minute that their poverty might be something of their own doing or lack thereof. Yes I am comparing the Roman blood lust to our modern day depravity of "entitlements". Why - because that is what the socialist and communist ideas lead too.
In every communist takeover throughout history, the ideas of "entitlements" and "redistribution of wealth" have always lead to mass murder and suffering. Why? Because those ideas fly in the face of the natural law and human nature itself. It is not only against divine law and natural law to steal from one and give to another, but it is contained in the very heart and soul of man to produce from the ability to own property so as to benefit with charity those who don't have the opportunity to own property. We are admonished in the Bible to do so. "Let him who would steal, rather work with his hands that he might have something to benefit those who are in need."
Those who have this motivation are called "Charitable" and those who don't, are called "greedy". So it is the same age old struggle of good against evil, that gives us the opportunity to create merit towards the eternal life by pleasing God while we are here. The age old saying is "You can't take it with you." I beg to differ. There is a way to take all of one's wealth with you to the next life. That is by exercising true Charity towards one's fellow man voluntarily while we yet have the chance. Many of the Catholic canonized Saints were born in the high ranks of Kings and wealthy, but they gave all their wealth away towards doing good works and were despised by many of their comptemporaries and called crazy for doing so. But the good which they did lives on and the souls that were inspired to change their lives and repent of their sins were legion.
The battle between good and evil rages around us, but it can only effect us in our relationship with God if we give in to the temptations the battle causes us to endure, and God will NOT allow us to suffer anything beyond our ability to endure (with His help).
My conclusion then is that the primary thing to be thankful for is that we are still here and able to do battle for Him and his teachings.
Once in a while God allows us to win a battle in this war even while we yet walk this earth. I am thankful for the way the midterm elections turned out on Nov. 2nd. But I also realize that the infowar rages on and demands much yet. I have no illusions that we can finally win that war once and for all, because even if we succeed in turning the path away from communism in America, we won't thereby stop the evil influences created by fallen human nature and the legions of hell. The battle demands constant attention and freedom demands contant vigilance and prayer.
But there is nothing that brings God's blessings on a nation quite like the GRATITUTDE of the people whom God blesses.
I am reminded of the story in the Bible of Jonah and the whale. Once Jonah finally decided to obey God and had gone to Ninive and started to preach repentance, the King and the people listened and prayed and did penance and changed their ways, and God heard them and decided NOT to punish them, but rather blessed them.
Let us earn God's blessings by true gratitude on this day, and by prayer and penance to bring His mercy on our country. That is my prayer for all of us today.
Deo Gratias (Thanks be to God).
Paul Stramer
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