Thanksgiving prayers

“He who thanks but with the lips thanks but in part; the full, the true, thanksgiving comes from the heart” (J. A. Shedd).  With so much to be grateful for, every day is special.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Prayers

One…  Oh, God, when I have food, help me to remember the hungry; when I have work, help me to remember the jobless; when I have a warm home, help me to remember the homeless; when I am without pain, help me to remember those who suffer; and remembering, help me to destroy my complacency and bestir my compassion.  Make me concerned enough to help, by word and deed, those who cry out for what we take for granted (Samuel F. Pugh).

Two…  Almighty Father, you are lavish in bestowing all your gifts; and we give you thanks for the favors you have given us.  In your goodness you have favored us and kept us safe….  We ask that you continue to protect us and shelter us in the shadow of your wings.  We ask this through Christ, our Lord (Companions of St. Anthony [CSA]).

Three…  Lord, we are ever grateful for the bountiful meal before us, the fellowship of family, friends, and neighbors, and the faith that sustains us all year long.

Help us to live each day in a spirit of thanksgiving for your many blessings to be celebrated and shared with our brothers and sisters in Christ (John Lewis Sandlin in A Book of Table Graces).

Four…  Lord, we thank you for the goodness of our people and for the spirit of justice that fills this nation.  We thank you for the beauty and fullness of the land and the challenge of the cities.  We thank you for our work and our rest, for one another, and for our homes.  We thank you, Lord for….

For all that we have spoken and for all that we keep in our hearts, accept our thanksgiving on this day.

We pray and give thanks through Jesus Christ, our Lord (National Catholic Register).

Five…  Dear Lord, today we give thanks for our many blessings as we pray for those in need.

We give thanks for our family and friends as we pray for those who are lonely.  We give thanks for our freedoms as we pray for those who are oppressed.  We give thanks for our good health as we pray for those who are ill.  We give thanks for our comfort and prosperity as we share our blessings with others.

On this day of Thanksgiving, may the love of God enfold us, the peace of God dwell within us, and the joy of God uplift us (Catholic Doors).

Six…  O God, we thank you for this earth, our home; for the wide sky and the blessed sun; for the salt sea and the running water; for the everlasting hills and the never-resting winds; for trees and the common grass underfoot.

We thank you for our senses by which we hear the songs of birds and see the splendor of summer fields and taste the autumn fruits and rejoice in the feel of snow and smell the breath of spring.

Grant us a heart opened wide to all this beauty; and save us from being so  blind that we pass unseeing when even the common thorn-bush is aflame with your  glory.

For each new dawn is filled with infinite possibilities for new beginnings and  new discoveries. Life is constantly changing and renewing itself. In this new  day of new beginnings with God, all things are possible. We are restored and  renewed in a joyous awakening to the wonder that our lives are and, yet, can  be (Lord’s Prayer Works).

Seven…  Thank you, O God, for hearing my prayer and granting my request.  Thank you for all the kindness you have shown me.

Thank you, Father, for your great love in giving me my life, for your great patience in preserving me despite my sinfulness, for your protection in the past, and for the opportunity to serve and honor you in the future.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for keeping me numberless times from sin and death by the toils of your life, the sufferings of your Passion, and by your victorious Resurrection.

Thank you, Holy Spirit of God, for bestowing so many graces upon my soul and for having so frequently renewed your life within me.

May my life from now on be a sign of my gratefulness.

Eight…  We thank you, most loving and generous Creator, for the abundance you have bestowed on us, your servant people.

May we use your gifts to build your kingdom; to help the poor, as you commanded; to bring light to a world in darkness.  May we be faithful to your commandments.

Bless the people in our lives that we may help each other grow in your love.  We pray in union with Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit (We Are Missionary).

Nine…  I offer this day to you, dear God.  Thank you for the blessings you have given me.

May I use these gifts to build your kingdom.  May my actions be a reflection of your love.  May what I do today bring others closer to you.  May my words be kind and gentle, and may they bring joy to others.

Today, help me to give back a portion of what you have given me.  I ask this in Jesus’ name (Stewardship prayer, Archdiocese of Regina).

Ten…  Bountiful God, you have been generous to us; help us to be generous to others.  Your love is unconditional; help us to love others with an open heart.  Your gifts are bountiful; help us to pass them on joyfully.  Your mercy is infinite; help us to forgive those who have injured us.  Your grace is never-ending; help us to give you glory in all we do.  Your wisdom is boundless; help us to choose your way in all we do today.  We pray in Jesus’ name.

Eleven…  Loving God, who created and sustains the universe, who loved us all into being, and who gives us every good thing, we thank you for the blessings that you bring into our lives.

We thank you for the gift of life itself, which you gave us in our mothers’ wombs.  We thank you for the fresh start of each new day, which is a sign of your renewing and creative love.  We thank you for our friends, our families, our neighbors, and our coworkers, whose human love is an image of your divine care.

Increase our gratitude this Thanksgiving Day, and help us to recognize all the good things that we have, both large and small.

Magnify our desire to share what we have with others so that they too may be grateful to you, loving God.

Twelve…  Lord God, your gifts of love are countless and your goodness is infinite.  From your hand we have received generous gifts so that we might learn to share your blessings with others in gratitude.  We come to you with gratitude for your kindness.  Open our hearts to concern for others so that we may share your gifts in loving service to them.

Thirteen…  Dear Lord, as we gather together around this table laden with your plentiful gifts to us.  We thank you for always providing what we really need and for sometimes granting wishes for things we don’t really need.

Today, let us be especially thankful for each other— for family and friends who enrich our lives in wonderful ways— even when they present us with challenges.  Let us join together now in peaceful, loving fellowship to celebrate your love for us and our love for each other (Poemsource).

Fourteen…  O God, you entrusted to us the fruits of all creation so that we might care for the earth and be nourished with its bounty.

You sent us your son to share our very flesh and blood and to teach us your law of love.  Through his death and resurrection, we have been formed into one human family.  Jesus showed great concern for those who had no food— even transforming five loaves and two fish into a banquet that served five thousand and many more.

We come before you, O God, conscious of our faults and failures, but full of hope, to share food with all members in this global family.

Through your wisdom inspire leaders of government and of business, as well as all the world’s citizens, to find just and charitable solutions to end hunger by assuring that all people enjoy the right of food.  Thus we pray, O God, that, when we present ourselves for divine judgment, we can proclaim ourselves as one human family with food for all (Bread for the World).

Fifteen…  Father all-powerful, your gifts of love are countless and your goodness infinite; as we come before you on Thanksgiving Day with gratitude for your kindness, open our hearts to have concern for every man, woman, and child so that we may share your gifts in loving service.  Through Christ, our Lord (Ignatius Pew Missal).

Sixteen…  Father in heaven, thank you for your countless favors to me today and in all my past.  I am grateful for the silent inspirations of your Holy Spirit and the assistance he lends my human weakness and instability.

Because my prayers and petitions are present before you, I rely confidently on your granting my requests in your powerful and far-seeing goodness.

I ask, above all, for the special favor of remaining ever faithful to the teachings of your son, Jesus Christ, who lives and rules with you in union with the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for all the ages to come (Franciscan Mission Associates [FMA]).

Seventeen…  God most provident, we join all creation in raising to you a hymn of thanksgiving.  For generation upon generation peoples of this land have sung of your bounty; we too offer you praise for the rich harvest we have received at your hands.  Bless us and this food which we share with grateful hearts.  Continue to make our land fruitful and let our love for you be seen in our pursuit of peace and justice and in our generous response to those in need.  Praise and glory to you, Lord God, now and forever (FMA).

Eighteen…  O holy banquet in which Christ is received, the memory of his passion is recalled, the soul is filled with grace, and the promise of the future glory is given to us.  Alleluia.

V.  You have given them bread from heaven.  Alleluia.
R.  Containing in itself all delight.  Alleluia.

God, who in this wonderful sacrament left us a memorial of your passion, we implore you that we may so venerate the sacred mysteries of your body and blood as always to be conscious of the effects of your redemption.  You live and reign forever and ever (CSA).

Contact information

The cornucopia prayer (2008) is from Franciscans St. Anthony’s Guild, 4 Jersey Street, East Rutherford, NJ 07073-1012.

November 6, 2012

Father, thank you for the banquet you set before me.  Help me to receive all that you have for me.  I believe that you can fill my every need (the Word among us, November 2012, p. 25).

November 22, 2012

“Never pass a day without thanking Jesus Christ for all he has done for you during your life” (St. John Vianney).

November 23, 2012

He who fashioned us and created us brought us into his world.  Since, then, we owe all this to him, we ought to give him thanks for everything (St. Clement I).

November 26, 2012

Jesus, you love a cheerful giver.  In gratitude I give you my heart (the Word among us, November 2012, p. 45).

February 2, 2013

Father, I love you.  I come to you today filled with gratitude that you welcome me.  Your promises are true.  I rejoice in the ways you are molding my heart even now (the Word among us, Jan/Feb 2013, p. 60).

September 12, 2013

Father, teach me to sing your praises no matter what my circumstances are.  I know your love will never fail (the Word among us, September 2013, p. 31).

November 28, 2013

       

This Thanksgiving we are grateful for everyone and everything: the good times and the bad, mistakes made and lessons learned.  Most of all, we are grateful for the gifts and talents that God has so generously bestowed on us collectively.

Moreover, we give thanks and praise for the opportunity to build community within God’s kingdom, and we offer our heartfelt gratitude to our Lord Jesus Christ for illuminating the path to God without whom the Feast of Life would not be possible.

This Thanksgiving we remember that the way Jesus gave his all to and for us is the way God avails himself to us daily, so we take St. Dominic’s invitation to heart: Give wholeheartedly without hesitation, pray with earnest resolve, remember that God is always present, and aim for God’s listening ear as a year ’round commitment.  “For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be” (Mt. 6:21; Deli’s card).

December 29, 2013

And be thankful.  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.  And whatever you do in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Col. 3:15-21).

January 17, 2014

“Remember with thanksgiving the blessings and providence of God [and] glorify God, giving him from the heart praises that rise on high” (St. Anthony of Egypt).

February 2, 2014

“Rejoicing with Simeon, let us sing a hymn of thanksgiving to God, the father of the light who sent the true light to dispel the darkness and to give us all a share in his splendor” (St. Sophronius).

March 16, 2014

After Communion…  As we receive these glorious mysteries, we make thanksgiving to you, O Lord, for allowing us while still on earth to be partakers even now of the things of heaven.  Through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

November 26, 2015

“The secret of happiness is to live moment by moment and to thank God for all that he, in his goodness, sends to us day after day” (St. Gianna Beretta Molla).

April 24, 2016

“May your heart be an altar from which the bright flame of unending thanksgiving ascends to heaven” (St. Mary Euphrasia Pelletier).

April 18, 2017

Creator God, allow us the grace to find assurance in your open ear.  You hear our cries and offer deliverance through Christ’s love, through his suffering and everlasting empathy.  Allow us the ability to respond to your awesome reality through praise and gratitude— praise for the intimacy of your meal, gratitude for the moment, and space it creates with you. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Ben Rumbaugh).

November 22, 2017

O God, on this day of Thanksgiving we pause to give thanks to you, recognizing that all life flows from you and is grace freely given to us, especially your merciful salvation which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.  Amen (RCL Benziger).

November 21, 2018

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it” (William Arthur Ward).

Links of interest…  5 prayers for your Thanksgiving feast (grace)…  6 ways to teach kids about gratitude…  107 Thanksgiving quotes…  Because words matter: The importance of sharing your gratitude with others…  CCE: lesson plans / pine-cone turkey (more)…  Enrich your spiritual life with thanksgiving…  Family: blessings / crafts / prayer…  For those who grieve…  Give thanks (YouTube)…  Grateful Living: ten true things about gratefulness / virtual candles…  Gratitude…  I know a man: Gratitude & the God of Thanksgiving…  Little book of holy gratitude…  Plimoth Plantation (facebook)…  Prayers: book / in a riven land / mealtime / poems & songs / Poemsource / psalms / quotes…  Quick daily practice to help you be more grateful…  Table Graces…  Ten reasons why our hearts should be full of thanksgiving…  Thanksgiving: activities / & the Eucharist (greatest gift of all) / first / for kids (more) / games (printables) / history / kid-friendly recipes (more) / theme pages / three gifts / tree of thanks (for kids)…  the Word among us…

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