Thanksgiving

Next Thursday is Thanksgiving and many people will gather with family and friends to celebrate the holiday with food, drink, conversation (and for some football and shopping).  For those who are traveling this Thanksgiving we wish you safe travels.

As we offer thanks for what we have and join with those we care about to enjoy our holiday meal let us not forget that there will be people - far too many people - who will have no family and friends to spend the day with, no TV to watch football and the parade, no money to take advantage of the shopping sales, and no food for a holiday meal; or maybe just enough food to barely get through another day.

The people in need who we serve at St. Vincent de Paul have many faces.  Some of those faces are those who are carrying a burden, and maybe have carried a lifetime burden, of poverty and need driven by many circumstances, life-choices, and behaviors.  Others have encountered a short term and bounded 'bump in the road' of life that they need some support getting through.  Some lack education or the training, and the opportunity to make a better life for themselves and their families.

What is important to remember is that these faces of need are not all the same.  Given what has happened in the economy over the last three years the profile of those people driven into circumstances of desperation and need has changed dramatically.  Need has many faces - and many of those faces look just like us, and our neighbors, and our family members, and our friends. 

We are the faces of need.  We are the faces of those who can help alleviate that need.

So next Thursday, as you enjoy your day, add to your prayer of Thanksgiving a prayer for who aren't enjoying their day.  Those for who Thanksgiving is just another painful days journey through a desperate situation. And if you can find a way to help those in need this holiday season, whether it be with your time, your talent, or your treasure, then please find a place where you can make a difference and do it.

Need has many faces - and so do we.

Peace and God Bless,
John