Several years ago, Diana and I were in Panama over the Thanksgiving holiday. In Panama, as in most of the world, November’s fourth Thursday is just another day. There was no turkey, no football, and no cranberry sauce to be found.

But oddly, there were massive Black Friday sales everywhere you looked. Black Friday, it turns out, has crossed international and cultural borders. People knew all about the bargains but not Thanksgiving itself. They had the sales, but not the story of gratitude behind it.

Teaching gratitude in the catechumenate

Many families, including mine, start the Thanksgiving meal by asking, “What are we thankful for?” Thanksgiving Day offers a teachable moment in parish catechumenate ministry for us to ask what are the God-moments in our lives that we need to recognize and give thanks for.

Just this last weekend, my parish had a lot to be thankful for. We celebrated the Rite for Entrance into the Catechumenate, during which we welcomed nine new catechumens—adults, teens, and children—across two Masses. For us, this was a significant increase in numbers. It was also a visible sign of God’s abundance and the fruit of the parish’s extravagant welcoming and hospitable spirit.

As I looked at each new face being signed with the Cross of Christ, I was reminded that the call to announce the gospel is never one person’s job or the job of a single parish committee or team. It is a ministry shared by all of the baptized priesthood.

An attitude of gratitude

Formation in the catechumenate is, at its core, an apprenticeship in Christian gratitude. Some of the new catechumens standing in front of us last Sunday have been through some difficult times. Some are still struggling at this very moment. But all of them were beaming with joy. Their nascent faith has been shaped, watered, and fed by the moments of beauty and liberation in their lives.

Like all of us, their faith has also been shaped by moments of pain and despair. The scriptures tell us that the yoke of the gospel mission is light, but it is still a yoke. What our new catechumens have learned is that the burden is easier to bear because Jesus does the heavy lifting alongside us.

In the past month, my own gratitude has been bolstered by the presence of my 89-year-old mother who has been staying with us. Even in that joy, however, there is more work and discipline in meal preparation, sharing our living space, and in making time just to be with each other.

My gratitude has also been tested this last month by the disruptions of the government shutdown in the United States. We’ve seen the direct impact on the poor in our neighborhood as the number of hungry people showing up for our Tuesday St. Vincent de Paul food ministry increased by 40 percent.  

Experiences like this mirror the journey of every catechumen. They encounter Jesus not only in church but also at the family table, the food pantry, and even in occasions that are disruptive or challenging. ​

The catechumens encounter Jesus not only in church but also at the family table, the food pantry, and even in occasions that are disruptive or challenging. ​

Eucharist and welcome

Eucharistic theology teaches us that to give thanks is not simply to feel grateful, but to be formed into a community that receives, blesses, breaks, and shares God’s gifts with and for others. Each meal prepared—whether for my mother or for guests at St. Vincent de Paul—is a reflection of the greater Thanksgiving we celebrate in the Eucharist.

I believe the reason our parish is so extravagantly hospitable is because they practice the discipline of “Eucharistic hospitality” every week — receiving those who come with questions, stories, needs, challenges, and differences, making room for everyone at God’s banquet.

As we’ve said before, formation for catechumens means first of all listening to their stories and attending to their wounds. It means recognizing the grace of God in the obviously beautiful parts of life as well as the less-obvious beauty hidden by the challenging parts of life. It means helping our seekers live in a virtuous circle—gratitude leading to generosity, generosity leading to deeper gratitude—which is the pattern that will prepare them to one day share fully in the eucharistic table with us.

Lessons learned

So, during this Thanksgiving season, I am going to try even more diligently to give thanks for every seeker, catechumen, candidate, sponsor, and team member in my parish—even those who are sometimes challenging to love. Each of them is a unique reflection of the face of Jesus.

I am going to strive to do better at recognizing that disruption (in travel, ministry, or heart) often opens me up to deeper conversion.

I am going to try every day to show eucharistic gratitude by modeling the extravagant hospitality my fellow parishioners are so good at. I am going to learn from the long-time veterans of our St. Vincent de Paul ministry how to share my surplus—and my want—with those most in need. And I am going to remind myself and our catechumens that these are not “tasks” but a way of life and the way of faith for every Christian.

Catechumenate ministry, for me, is about remembering the story of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection and inviting each catechumen (and myself) to recognize and celebrate God’s abundant grace in every moment.

Remembering the story

When I think back to those massive Black Friday banners in Panama, which announced the sales but not the story behind the sales—I realize how easily we can lose sight of what really matters.

Catechumenate ministry, for me, is about remembering the story of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection and inviting each catechumen (and myself) to recognize and celebrate God’s abundant grace in every moment.

Every Sunday is a thanksgiving—a eucharistia —for us. Thanksgiving is the heart of our Christian life, nourished by bread blessed and broken, sustained by cup poured out and shared, always in the remembrance of God’s saving acts of grace in the Body and Blood of his only Son.

We in the U.S., of course, invented “Black Friday.” That and many other secular “feast days” and activities can drown out the story we need to remember and tell. This Thanksgiving, let’s help the catechumens and one another remember that embedded in every act of hospitality and generosity is the story of Jesus’s eucharistic hope and God’s saving love.

Can you help me out?

I’d love to know how this is landing. Can you share a word or a phrase about how this article resonates with you? Does it speak to your experience? Share your thoughts in the comments box below. Thanks for being part of the conversion!