Thanksgiving 2020: gratitude in the time of the pandemic

October 8, 2020

As Thanksgiving weekend approaches, I can't help but think that in this year 2020, marked by COVID-19, this holiday, like many other things, is going to be, for many, very different from other years.

Thanksgiving is traditionally celebrated in Canada on the second Monday of October since 1957, the year when Parliament decided to create "a day to give thanks to Almighty God for the abundant harvests enjoyed by Canada." . This day is often an opportunity to gather with family or friends around a meal with the flavors of autumn and in Christian families it is also an opportunity to stop and thank God for the blessings of past year.

But this year I can't help but wonder, while family or friend reunions are compromised by confinement, while 2020 has been far from joyful for most people, and has instead brought its share of suffering and difficulties without sparing any home, how can we have the taste to celebrate and rejoice in the goodness granted by God this year.

To answer this question, I invite you to meditate on this magnificent prayer that Mary addressed to God when she had just learned that she was pregnant with Jesus.

“Then Mary said: My soul sings | the greatness of the Lord

and my spirit rejoices | because of God my Savior.

Because he wanted | lower your gaze | on his humble servant.

This is why, from now on, | through all times, | I will be called blessed.

For the Almighty God | did great things for me; L

yes, he is holy.

And his goodness | will extend from age to age among those who fear him.

He intervened | with all his power and he scattered | men whose hearts | was filled with pride.

He rushed | the mighty from their thrones,

and he lifted up the humble.

He filled with goods | those who are hungry,

and he returned | the rich empty-handed.

Yes, he took charge | the cause of Israel,

he showed his goodness | to the people who serve him,

as he promised our ancestors,

to Abraham and his descendants for all time.”

Luke 1:46-55 NIV

We can't really say that everything was going well in Marie's life at that time. Quite the contrary. An angel came to tell her that she was going to be pregnant even though she had never known a man in her life. Joseph, her fiancé, almost broke off their engagement and had a hard time believing Mary's words, and how to blame her. Marie now finds herself far from home, in the middle of the mountains, with Elisabeth, her relative. And we know that the rest of the story won't always be rosy either.

The least we can say is that the year has not been easy and it would be easy for Marie to consider the other difficulties that await her in the coming months. And yet, Mary chooses to turn to God, to place all her faith in Him and to trust Him. She chooses to remember the greatness of God, his power, his goodness. She chooses to believe, she chooses to have faith and to place all her trust in God for her future. She even goes so far as to declare that from now on she will be called blessed (v. 48). Mary is not naive, she is surely aware of the difficulties that await her, but at this moment, she makes the decision to stop, she chooses to have faith and to offer God all her gratitude.

My spirit rejoices | because of God my Savior.

Because he was kind enough to lower his gaze on his humble servant.

As Thanksgiving approaches, I invite you to forget for a time the trials you have gone through this year and those that you think you will see coming in the coming months and to simply draw closer to God. You may feel like you have nothing to thank God for this past year, but you can, like Mary, be grateful for who He is in all circumstances.