For all that we are often lost amid the loneliness, hostage to the gravity and grief that cause us to fall, there is always that sudden and unexpected upsurge of grace and glory to lift us high above the dark and sullen weight of so many dead and dying leaves... An old and valued friend, [...]
In a season of disharmony, discord, distrust, and disorder, it is often painful to stop, to pause, and to give oneself distance enough to consider what must be recognized as good, and true, and beautiful, even in what seems a cesspool of existence. To give thanks, though, is not only necessary, it is salubrious! In [...]
For most of us, Thanksgiving gives rise to some of the best memories of childhood, perhaps because the day is not complicated by the dramatic rituals and more profound emotions of other holidays. For my family in Georgia and South Carolina, Thanksgiving was the occasion when all my aunts and uncles and all my cousins [...]
Food is a way to enjoy being alive. Drink wine and dance around the kitchen; kiss your beloved. Life can be beautiful… Experts with scientific credentials tell us the best way to resolve interpersonal conflicts, how to raise children, and what food to eat. These new gurus maintain that in principle scientific truths can [...]
Gratitude remains the only key that unshackles us and lets us breathe free. We all unthinkingly use the phrase “the gift of life,” but it is only a gift if we really think of it as such… Myth is not fiction. Myth is truth that ignores the facts. Myths are the tales we tell [...]
Why does the mystery of D.B. Cooper, who in 1971 committed the only unsolved airline hijacking in history, continue to fascinate us?... FBI sketches of D.B. Cooper On the evening of November 24, 1971—the day before Thanksgiving—a dark-haired man dressed in a black raincoat, dark suit and thin, black tie, white shirt, and [...]
Those of my Dutch neighbor’s generation knew exactly what they were doing in the Passion Play that was Europe during World War II. It was her Christian faith that sustained her through the hardships of those years… Stien van Egmond In honor of Thanksgiving and in anticipation of the Christmas season, I [...]
May this Thanksgiving be a feast of many gifts, both in the families we love and in this great nation for which we pray... Thanksgiving has always been an occasion when we offer God our gratitude for the many blessings He has given us. It is surely the most familial of our national holidays, but [...]
At what other time of the year do families really come together in the way they do on Thanksgiving? I must admit, I always have mixed feelings about celebrating Thanksgiving. It’s not that I don’t love giving thanks—in fact, I really do love it. And, I especially love how we Americans do it. If I [...]
Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others. —Cicero I would mention that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder. —G. K. Chesterton There are some things that take some getting used to for an Englishman living in the United States. It [...]
By long custom at St. John’s College, the president invites to Thanksgiving dinner all our international students, as well as any other students and faculty who are spending Thanksgiving away from home and family. After the events of September 11, 2001, we added a series of readings to the tradition. Before we sit down [...]
I must admit, I always have mixed feelings about celebrating Thanksgiving. It’s not that I don’t love giving thanks—in fact, I really do love it. And, I especially love how we Americans do it. If I had my way, we’d have cranberry relish, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie, and turkey five times to six times [...]
On the first day of our spring semester, at the little liberal arts college at which I teach, I have for the last fourteen years had the joy of watching forty freshmen respond to the complexities and depth of a seemingly simple document, that we call, the Mayflower Compact. It really should be rather straightforward: [...]
A lighthearted romp at first blush, “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” tells the story of how the example of simple goodness can be transformational… The category of “Thanksgiving movies” is a select one indeed, but it is not meant as faint praise to crown John Hughes’ 1987 film, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, the greatest Thanksgiving [...]