Bishops' Schedules: Bishop Robert C. Morlino Sunday, Nov. 26, 2006 11:00 a.m. -- Preside and preach at Stational Mass, Feast of Christ the King, St. Patrick Church, Madison. Wednesday, Nov. 29, to Friday, Dec. 1, 2006 Attend Board of Visitors Meeting, Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, Fort Benning, Ga. Bishop William H. Bullock Monday, Nov. 27, 2006 12:00 noon -- Preside and Preach at Celebration of the Eucharist, Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center, Madison Bishop George O. Wirz Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2006 12:00 noon -- Preside and Preach at Celebration of the Eucharist, Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center, Madison

Thanks be to God:
A time of year to be grateful

		Under the Gospel Book + Bishop Robert C. Morlino

(en Español)

Dear friends,

As Thanksgiving Day approaches, I find myself grateful for many things, most especially that election day with our referenda on marriage and capital punishment has come and gone.

	Related Thanksgiving article: • Editorial -- Sharing our bounty: Reaching out during the holidays

I am grateful to all who, with me, voted yes to protect marriage and no to capital punishment, and I am grateful as well to those who were deeply concerned about the issues, who really cared, and voted otherwise. Dialogue and reason are always good for all of us, and I know that the whole matter, with regard to marriage and to capital punishment, is far from over. I look forward to talking and reasoning these matters through with our entire diocesan community in the days ahead, and as I said, I am deeply grateful to all who have cared enough to enter into these conversations.

Christmas and Thanksgiving bond

It has always interested me that, traditionally, the Friday after Thanksgiving is the first shopping day for Christmas. Now, I am fully aware that the retailers have begun their push toward Christmas shopping, in many cases even earlier than Halloween. For many years I have been disturbed by this phenomenon, since I thought that the commercial approach to Christmas shopping made Thanksgiving Day pass too quickly, but as I reflect more on the matter, the tight bond between Christmas and Thanksgiving becomes evermore clear.

For my own limited Christmas gift-giving, the issue of thanksgiving is central. As I offer the limited gifts that I can during this holy season, I offer them primarily in thanksgiving to God Our Father, who gave us the best Christmas gift of all in Jesus Christ, His Son, our Redeemer.

Jesus comes to me in many different ways, especially through the Eucharist, and in many different persons, and for me Christmas has always been a time of saying a sincere thank you, from the heart, to those through whom Jesus especially enters my life.

Christmas for me has always been a time of thanksgiving for faith, for friends, for health, and for safety.

Deeply grateful for many things

At Christmas I am always deeply grateful in the first place to the Lord for His gifts of diaconate, priesthood, and the office of bishop, gifts that I would never have expected to receive in the earlier years of my life. I am deeply grateful for all of those whom I have been called to serve over so many years and in so many parts of the United States.

I am especially grateful to my sisters and brothers who are members of the diocesan family here in Madison. The Lord has given me a wonderful gift in all of you. In particular, I thank God for my brother priests, for their holiness, goodness, and the inspiration that they give; for my brother deacons; for all of our consecrated religious, who give me the wonderful gift of reminding me that holiness is what it is all about. I am grateful indeed to my brother bishops, Bishop Bullock and Bishop Wirz, who provide invaluable help in an ongoing way and to my chancery staff.

I am so grateful at Thanksgiving and Christmas for those priests who were willing, because of the call to episcopal ministry of Bishop Swain, to accept new assignments out of the ordinary course. I am especially grateful to Fr. Heiar and Fr. Holmes who have come to Madison to be my day-to-day collaborators in my responsibilities to the whole diocese and to St. Raphael's Cathedral.

As I have written previously, Bethlehem means "the house of bread" and Christmas happened in Bethlehem. Every altar in every one of our Churches is "Bethlehem," where Christmas happens on virtually a daily basis, when the Word takes flesh and dwells among us, through the ministry of the priest.

I am so grateful to God, at Thanksgiving time and at Christmas, for our seminarians, such fine men whom the Lord has called to be in the person of Christ, to care for the wonderful faithful of this diocese into the future. And may this wonderful gift multiply in abundance, so that we can care for our own needs in the diocese and also assist where there is profound need beyond our own borders, particularly in the military chaplaincy and in providing seminary professors.

The link between Thanksgiving and Christmas is indeed an essential bond - Thanksgiving is an appropriate warm-up.

Reflect on gift giving at Christmas

May I conclude by suggesting that all of us reflect on our past habit and current practice of gift giving at Christmas.

We are always most grateful ourselves when we receive a gift that we really need. In fact, priests and bishops receive many gifts which we deeply appreciate, but which we really don't need. It might be well for all of us every year to consider whether we are giving someone a gift that she or he really needs. And rather than going into serious credit card debt, there are probably family, friends, and acquaintances of ours who need simply a card, personally written, telling them how much we love and appreciate them, or perhaps telling them that we really do forgive them from the heart, for some offense which has generated a grudge, either short term or long term.

It would be great I believe, and also better for our Christmas budget, if we decided to give everyone this year only something she or he really needs.

Above all let us never underestimate the power of prayer and the wonderful gift to anyone, which is the assurance of our prayer especially during the season of Thanksgiving and Christmas. Let us remember the words that the Lord loves a cheerful giver. Let us not turn the beauty of Christmas giving into an occasion of stress rather than joy. Christmas is the time to be a cheerful giver.

Happy Thanksgiving to all! God bless you and yours as we enter the holy season of Advent. Thank you for reading this and as always, praised be Jesus Christ!