By Judie Brown
As we give thanks this week for the countless blessings in our lives, we also want to take the time to give thanks for all of the Americans united by the struggle to build a culture of life. There are many things we contemplate as we put together our Thanksgiving prayer. I compiled a very incomplete list of suggestions, yet I apologize for all the people and events not mentioned. At my age, there is a real excuse for that. However, we must understand and feel consolation in the fact that God knows all that we say and all that we should say we are grateful for. As Our Father, He takes care of the details we so often forget.
To begin, we thank the Lord for every person involved with the work of American Life League. We praise Him for their families as well. Each of us is a cog in the wheel of effort that defines who we are, and without even one of us the wheel would not roll.
In addition, we give thanks for every family that provides support for our work through their sacrificial giving, their prayers, and their local efforts to reach out and spread the gospel of life. In today’s cultural wasteland, we know how difficult that can be at times, so we take special note of their courage, their love for the babies, and their consistency. Pro-life Americans never give up!
We are thankful for the special heroes in our midst who toil in the vineyard and remain committed to helping, serving, and caring. Without these hundreds and hundreds of volunteers who give unselfishly to expectant mothers and their babies, to the ill and the dying, to the special needs children and adults, and to so many others, America would be poverty stricken and unable to grow. As St. Teresa of Calcutta once said, “I am not sure exactly what heaven will be like, but I know that when we die and it comes time for God to judge us, He will not ask, ‘How many good things have you done in your life?’ rather He will ask, ‘How much love did you put into what you did?’”
Each of the people we have mentioned deposits love in the desolate culture, planting seeds of selfless care that help it to grow out of its self-centeredness and into the humane reality that should define this nation and our respect for the human person. We give thanks for every single one of you and we praise God for you.
We also give special thanks to the heroes who have stepped up during this year to proclaim truth without apology. We think especially of Cardinal Raymond Burke, David Daleiden, and David Bereit, among so many others.
And we will never forget those courageous leaders we lost this year. We are thankful for each of them, including Phyllis Schlafly, Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia, and Mother Angelica. For all these special people and their contributions to the cause of truth, we thank God.
Finally and most importantly, we thank God for our family and friends, each placed in our lives by our loving Father. And so we pray:
Lord, Creator of all and source of all goodness and love, please look kindly upon us and receive our heartfelt gratitude during this special time of year.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for Your grace, Your blessings, and the amazing people You have placed in our families, our lives, our work, and everywhere. Thank You for our homes, our communities, and our nation.
Lord, we are humbled before You and we praise You, realizing that without You nothing is possible and that all good comes from You. Help us be Your humble servants, Your faithful children.
Thank You Father. Amen.
We wish you and your families a truly blessed and joyous Thanksgiving.
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image: Carol Blyberg via Flickr | CC-2.0