And now, bless the God of all, who has done wondrous things on earth; Who fosters people’s growth from their mother’s womb, and fashions them according to his will!

Are you a glass is half empty or half full person?  As you give thanks today with family and friends, give this question some thought before you sit down to eat with everyone.  And as you give this question thought and whatever answer you come up with, give this comment some thought too.  Christ is neither a half empty or half full kinda of guy.  Christ is all in and so can we.  We Catholics have a great tradition in our faith.  We refer to it as the source and summit of everything we do.  We call this our Eucharist.  Ever wonder what the meaning of Eucharist is?  I did, and did a quick search and found this article written by Scott Richert; here is a little snip-it of it…

The Eucharist is another name for Holy Communion or the Lord’s Supper. The term comes from the Greek by way of Latin. It means “thanksgiving.” It often refers to the consecration of the body and blood of Christ or its representation through bread and wine.

It means Thanksgiving – a rather appropriate meaning for today.  Back to my point.  In our Eucharist, we as Catholics hear the word of God professed in what we refer to as the Liturgy of the Word and then we participate in partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ in our Liturgy of the Eucharist.  It is in the second part that I’ve come to believe that Christ is neither a half empty or half full glass Man.  His glass is always full; His cup is always overflowing.  It is a gift He gave us at the Last Supper and since that gift was bestowed on us, we have been drinking from this Cup that never empties.  I will always be thankful for this gift from Christ and I too, will always try to be a FULL glass kinda of man.  I will always give thanks to God for the life he has blessed me with.  Taking from the first chapter of Job…

He said, “Naked I came forth from my mother’s womb,^f and naked shall I go back there.^* The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD!”

Whatever life brings me, whatever challenges I face, whatever joys I share, Blessed Be the Name of the Lord, both now and forever.  Jesus cleansed 10 lepers in our Gospel reading this morning, only 1 of which came back to Him to praise and thank Him.  I do not want to be like the 9 who were healed but did not give thanks to  God for the healing.  I want to be like the Gentile, who knew it was a great gift to be cleansed and gave the proper thanks to the Creator of that gift ; to the Creator of all gifts; to the Creator of ALL.  Professing that faith, professing that God is the giver of all good gifts, today’s responsorial psalm truly comes to life…

R. (see 1)  I will praise your name for ever, Lord.
Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the LORD and highly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.
R. I will praise your name for ever, Lord.
Generation after generation praises your works
and proclaims your might.
They speak of the splendor of your glorious majesty
and tell of your wondrous works.
R. I will praise your name for ever, Lord.
They discourse of the power of your terrible deeds
and declare your greatness.
They publish the fame of your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your justice.
R. I will praise your name for ever, Lord.
The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.
R. I will praise your name for ever, Lord.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom
and speak of your might.
R. I will praise your name for ever, Lord.

And in as much as I give thanks for my blessings, I also give thanks to the people God has enriched my life with…my beautiful wife Sarah, Grace, Chris, Aiden, Logan, Audrey, Jerome Jr., Megan, Jerome III, baby Dorhauer coming to us in February,  Cecilia, Garrett, Richard, Megan, Mary, Ruth, Paul, Tony, Halie, Teresa (who is now dating Presley), my mother Judy, my mother-in-law Bernice, Janice’, Brett (and family), John, Mimi (and family), Jeff, Diana (and family), Jim, Bitzy (and family), Joe, Laura (and family), Jay, Cheri (and family), Jackie, Jim (and cousins), Jerry (and Shawn), Uncle Bob, Anne, Peter (and family), Joel (and family), Paul (and family), Tom, Kelly (and family), Kristen, Marc (and family)…I’m getting typer’s cramp!!!  All of my friends, coworkers, electricians…I wish for all of you a blessed day.  I pray that all of you see your glass is as full as mine and take the time to give thanks to our generous God who made it that way.  Last bit of thought that I offer you all today comes from our second reading this morning…

Brothers and sisters:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I give thanks to my God always on your account
for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus,
that in him you were enriched in every way,
with all discourse and all knowledge,
as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you,
so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift
as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He will keep you firm to the end,
irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is faithful,
and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

And one last bit of prayer for the Soul’s who have passed from our lives…my father Jack and his parents and sister; my father-in-law Ignatius; my sister-in-law Karin; John Snyder, Jim Schmidt, Tiffany Lentz.  May their souls, and the souls of all the faithful, rest in peace.

Do something great for our Lord today – and everyday.  Give thanks to Him; praise Him.  Drink from His cup that never empties and always, always satisfies.  Praise His name forever, your King and your God.

God’s will, not mine, be done.

Be not afraid; just have faith.

Jesus, I trust in You.

He must increase; I must decrease.

But you man of God chose righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience and gentleness.  Compete well for the faith.