As I do every year on Thanksgiving week, I am posting my blog a couple of days early so I can spend time with my family for the holiday.

Following the meeting of the bishops' conference last week, I traveled to Pittsburgh for the celebration of our Capuchin Province's 150th anniversary. When our Province of St. Augustine started, most of the members were lay brothers, which was very typical of the way things were in Germany -- there were more brothers than priests. [ . . .]

They asked me to preach at the anniversary Mass at St. Augustine's on Saturday. Bishop Bartchak from Altoona-Johnstown Diocese was there, as was Archabbot Martin of St. Vincent's in Latrobe, who is the successor of the first abbot who received the Capuchins when they came from Germany.

In my reflections, I talked about how when I arrived at St. Fidelis Seminary, it was still very German. We had one of the largest German libraries in the United States, and on top of all the bookshelves were beer steins. In former generations, one was assigned to each seminarian, and the friars made beer right there in the monastery.



Annual Appreciation Mass

On Sunday, I was back in Boston to celebrate the annual Appreciation Mass for our Catholic Appeal volunteers and benefactors. I was very happy to celebrate this Mass, especially since it was the Sunday before Thanksgiving, a time we want to express our thanks to God.

On that day, we were giving thanks to God for the generous benefactors and friends we have who support the works of evangelization and works of mercy of the Archdiocese of Boston with their prayers, sacrifices, and the time they dedicate to help the church.

It was a lovely celebration, and it was good to see so many people there. There was a wonderful turnout.



Thanksgiving holiday

Finally, as we prepare to celebrate this Thanksgiving holiday, I'd like to say how thankful I am for the gift of our faith and our community of faith, the people who make up the archdiocese whose witness and generosity are crucial for the mission of the Church.

We pray that people are able to gather with their loved ones for this very beautiful American feast, in which we recognize that everything we have, and everything we are, is a gift from our loving God. It is my hope that we will all come to understand that the best way to show our gratitude to God is by sharing the blessings we have received with those in need. It's also a time when we come together to pray for peace in our world, particularly in the Holy Land and Ukraine, where people are suffering the ravages of war.