“The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.”   Abraham Lincoln

According to some of his critics, Lincoln was not a spiritual man. It would be hard to imagine that was true judging by the words in his First Thanksgiving proclamation of 1863.

In his biography, Abraham Lincoln. Theologian of American Anguish, author Elton Trueblood wrote:

“He believed that God has a will for a country and that an honest man should rejoice in the effort to try to remake his country after the divine pattern, insofar as this pattern is revealed to him. He loved his country devoutly; he believed it had been brought into existence for a purpose; he believed that this purpose had something to do with the ultimate welfare of mankind.”

We can all be thankful that we are Americans living in a nation brought into existence for a special purpose and we have a sacred and awesome responsibility to defend and keep our “hallowed” Christian traditions.

A Thanksgiving Prayer

Father, all of Creation rightly owes you thanks and praise. Your justice, love and mercy abound. We thank you this day for all that you have given us:

 For the Passion and Death of your Divine Son, we thank you Father, through the Cross, He redeemed the world.

 For the Church, we thank you Father, it is our beacon for salvation.

 For the martyrs and saints who give testimony to your Son, we thank you Father, their witness to your Son is our inheritance.

 For our loved ones and friends who have died and gone before us, we thank you Father, their love abides with us forever.

 For loving spouses, we thank you Father, together we seek you.

 For the gift of children, we thank you Father, they are your precious gifts to us and to the world.

 For the gift of our families, loved ones and good friends, we thank you Father, Through them we see the reflection of your Son.

 For jobs, our homes and all that we have, we thank you Father, give us only that which we need, as we seek Your Kingdom.

 For the bounty we are about to eat, we thank you through Christ Our Lord.  Amen.

A blessed and joyous Thanksgiving Day to you and your family!

Phil Sevilla
President
Texas Leadership Coalition