Gratitude is the Foundation of the Christian Life
From the earliest pages of Scripture, gratitude is not merely an emotion, it is a posture of the soul. Before we ask God for anything, we are first called to thank Him for everything - our joys and our sorrows. Gratitude orients the heart to God’s goodness and reminds us that all we have, all we receive, and all we are is ultimately a gift.
The Psalms proclaim this truth again and again:
“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His steadfast love endures forever.” (Ps 118:1)
Saint Paul echoes the same in the New Testament:
“In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thess 5:18)
To be Christian is to be grateful. And to be grateful is to acknowledge God as the giver of every grace. Jesus embodied this gratitude for us perfectly and the Church has been unpacking it for more than 2,000 years.
The Perfect Act of Gratitude
While many Americans think of Thanksgiving as a holiday rooted in the Pilgrims of Plymouth that expresses our gratitude to God once a year, Catholics know that the foundation of Thanksgiving is older, deeper, and more profound - it flows forth from Calvary. The very word Eucharist comes from the Greek eucharistia, “thanksgiving.”
Every Mass is Thanksgiving Day. It is the true thanksgiving that:
- pre-dates every national holiday,
- is celebrated daily across the world, and
- is outside of time, drawing us into Christ’s eternal sacrifice.
The gratitude we express on Thanksgiving Day is a beautiful human echo of the divine thanksgiving Christ Himself offered to the Father through his passion - giving life for each and every one of us. And, this Thanksgiving has been celebrated in our country for much longer than many of us know.
The Beginning of Thanksgiving in America
Long before the American colonies formed, before Plymouth, before Jamestown, our nation’s earliest moments were shaped by Catholic missionaries who offered the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in thanksgiving to God.
The First Thanksgiving on the East Coast (1565)
When the Spanish arrived in what is now Florida, Fr. Francisco López de Mendoza Grajales celebrated the first recorded Catholic Mass on American soil on September 8, 1565 - the feast of the Nativity of Mary. This moment, years before the Pilgrims, was fundamentally an act of thanksgiving, offered in gratitude for safe arrival and God’s providence.
The First Thanksgiving on the West Coast
Two centuries later, Fr. Junípero Serra traveled north with a band of missionaries, founding missions up the California coast. At each stop, their first act was the same: the Mass. These moments were thanksgivings, Eucharistic celebrations seeking God’s blessing on the people, the land, and the work ahead.
Long Before the Pilgrims, Thanksgiving was Celebrated Throughout the Interior
From the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River, French Jesuits and Spanish Franciscans brought the faith to tribes and settlements across the vast interior of North America. Their journals speak of rugged travel, cultural encounters, and hardship but always, again and again, the Mass - the supreme act of thanksgiving.
A Founding Thanksgiving: The First Thanksgiving Celebrated by our Government
After Plymouth, the first true Thanksgiving celebrated by our united government happened immediately following the end of the Revolutionary War. Though our founding fathers came from a variety of Christian backgrounds, gratitude to God was central in the struggle for independence.
In 1781, after the victory at Yorktown, members of the Second Continental Congress processed to St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Philadelphia to give thanks to God. Protestants and Catholics together joined in prayer, united in gratitude, as they sang the Te Deum in Latin. The Te Deum is an ancient hymn of thanksgiving of the Church. They later attended Mass.
At a moment when the new nation was fragile, uncertain, and deeply diverse in its Christian religious practice, Thanksgiving to God became a unifying act. It is interesting that the first Mass on American soil happened on the Feast of the Nativity of Mary and the first Mass offered as a nation with a united government occurred in a Church bearing her name. Mary had a role in holding us together.
Our Shared Thanksgiving
As we gather around our tables tomorrow - with turkey, family, stories, and laughter - let’s remember that we are part of a much larger family: the Church. And that our gratitude - despite our sufferings - is life giving when united to Christ on the cross.
When we give thanks as Catholics, we give thanks not only for the blessings of the year, but even more importantly, we give thanks for our trials. And, through trials and blessings, we give gratitude to God for His salvific plan made present in the Eucharist. It is a plan that has unfolded throughout the ages. A plan which has shaped our country through missionary priests, sustained our families in grace, and continues to sanctify our souls throughout our lives and into the next.
May God bless you and your families this Thanksgiving Day and through each and every reception of the Eucharist at Mass.
Matt