Thanksgiving and vocations

Thanksgiving is an opportunity for us to ponder our many blessings. We often express gratitude for our health, jobs, homes, and families, which is good. This year let’s also focus on a unique blessing in our lives that we often take for granted: religious vocations.

Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks for material blessings but also the spiritual gifts that enrich our lives. What better gift than to recognize the men and women who dedicate their lives to God’s higher calling – the religious priests, brothers, and sisters who selflessly serve God and us through their vocations.

This year, I was privileged to join the vocations panel featuring Archbishop Allen Vigneron at an event organized by our Detroit and Detroit Northeast chapters. We received valuable insights from seminarians at various stages of their formation. A key takeaway from the panel was the significance of treating religious and priests as family, and as people created for community, as we all are. Central to this is gratitude for their vocations and inviting them to our homes for meals, looking for opportunities for camaraderie, and supporting them with our appreciation. an ideal time to invite religious to our home, to share in our gratitude. 

My family hosts priests and other religious individuals in our home regularly. This allows my children especially to normalize the concept of vocations and realize that these individuals with whom we break bread are just like them in many ways. Too often, the faithful consider priests and religious figures to be radically different from the rest of us, which can lead to the misconception that vocations are reserved for an elite, when in fact God calls us all to lives of holiness. 

If we do this intentionally and joyfully, our family and friends will see our value for vocations and how a life devoted to God is attractive. 

As we celebrate Thanksgiving, there are meaningful ways to incorporate gratitude for vocations into our day. One way is to start our Thanksgiving Day by attending Mass. While at Mass, we can offer heartfelt prayers of thanksgiving for the dedication and service of the religious individuals who serve us.

As we gather with loved ones and express gratitude for our blessings, let us also remember to instill in our children the profound value of a religious vocation. Encourage them to learn about the dedication, sacrifice, and spiritual richness of such a calling. If one of our children chooses this path, let our hearts be filled with thanksgiving to God, for they have answered a call to serve Him and His people. In nurturing appreciation for religious vocations, we help the faith flourish for generations. 

In Psalm 116, the psalmist asks, “What shall I render to the Lord, for all his bounty to me?” Give Him thanks for those who have followed a religious vocation and for the chance to guide your children to one.

That is a form of thanksgiving that will last beyond November 23.