I am Thankful for...

Well, it is that time of year again. Time to look back at the year and not make amends. This is not the time for making a fearless inventory of all that you have done wrong. Nope, because it is not about you or me. This is the time we look back and make a list of all we can be grateful for. That usually means we are focusing on others and a generous Creator.

This requires a little more flexibility for me this year. There have been some health concerns and some losses. However, that comes with the territory (getting older).

So here I go:
I am thankful because the health concerns are no longer concerns.
I am thankful that the people I miss were so worth missing. I am grateful for a life populated with people who are bright, funny, caring and oh so different from me.
I am thankful for a nation that made history.
I am thankful for family I love, friends I hold dear and people who are becoming friends.
I am thankful for students who are dedicated, bright, funny and caring.
I am thankful for people serving in the Peace Corp, the Civil Air Patrol, the Christian Appalachian Project and the American Red Cross.
I am thankful for Franciscans of all shapes, sizes and variety but especially for the Secular Franciscans.
I am thankful for the University of Saint Francis and Campus Ministry.
I am thankful for the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese
And I am thankful for my pets.

My prayer would be that this time next year I may be thankful for an end to torture, an end to the War in Iraq and the beginning of real responses to global warming.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everybody. I hope the past year has given you much to be thankful for and that the new year provides you with new opportunities to give thanks and the focus to recognize the reasons for the gratitude.

Peace and all good,
Carl