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First president’s thankful letter at auction

06 Oct 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The psalmist this Sunday urges us to “sing joyfully to the Lord” and to “come into his presence with thanksgiving.” President George Washington urged a similar spirit of thanksgiving in his 1789 proclamation establishing the first Thanksgiving Day. One of only two known copies of the document will be auctioned at Christie’s in New York City November 14.The only other known copy of the proclamation is at the Library of Congress, the auction house said. The proclamation, which set the first national day of thanksgiving for Thursday, November 26, 1789, is projected to sell for between $8 million and $12 million. It's being sold by a private American collector.Washington marked the day in 1789 by attending services at St. Paul's Chapel in Manhattan. In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving Day a permanent national holiday to be celebrated annually on the fourth Thursday in November. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939 moved it to the third Thursday in November. Two years later Congress passed a resolution reestablishing the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day.Washington's proclamation says in part: “Both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer. Now therefore do I recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being.”Homily hint: Though it’s a cliché to say that “every day should be Thanksgiving Day,” that doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea. While some may pay millions for a proclamation, we need no invitation to thank our Maker for all we are given each day. Source: An article by the Associated Press

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I have always found that mercy ...

Holy Year of Mercy reflections for your bulletin or website - The Holy Year of Mercy: Reflections

I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice. — Abraham Lincoln

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Exploring the word

03 Mar 2019 - Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Abraham Lincoln said it a little differently than the sage who composed our First Reading, but it’s the same idea. Lincoln said: “It is better to remain silent and thought a fool, than to speak up and remove all doubt.” Since the time of ancient Egypt, many have agreed that, compared with most speech, “silence is golden.” And silence earns its glorious reputation because we often use language so badly. Sometimes we lie; sometimes we just bend the facts a little. We say what we don’t know yet assert it as fact. We speak impulsively and cause irreparable harm. We chatter aimlessly, suffocating our listeners with our prattle. We gossip and ruin reputations. We voice opinions, some of which may reveal how dark our hearts really are. Before any election, we scrutinize the candidates to hear how their words confirm or betray their character. Of course when we talk, we give ourselves away too, despite our best intentions. That's why there's a law that says, “You have the right to remain silent.” We might want to exercise that right more often. The words we speak not only reveal us; they also have a way of deepening who we are. This shouldn’t surprise us, as we confess our faith in an incarnate God, a word enfleshed. God takes on flesh, and becomes all the things that flesh is: fragile, hungry, in need of friendship, capable of bleeding and dying. But in Jesus, flesh also becomes all the things the divine word is: life-giving, truth-telling, soul-healing—not to mention, stronger than death and even than hell. All of this might make us more mindful of the words we choose. When you and I speak bitterly as a matter of habit, we harden into cynics. When we think violent thoughts, it’s only a matter of time before we indulge violent actions. Remember the story of My Fair Lady? In a class-conscious society, this girl who speaks with a low-class dialect is not considered a “lady” at the start of the story. But as she learns to overcome her dialect, the power of new speech transforms her. A new identity blooms in her and she becomes one with it. Words take on flesh—and flesh, words. God’s word of love becomes the baby of Bethlehem. The stories Jesus tells of forgiveness become the man on the cross in Jerusalem. Words become flesh as surely as a tree produces its fruit—good or rotten—with integrity to its inner nature. If we intend gentleness, we must use softer words. If we’re unready within to produce loving speech just yet, then it is surely better to remain silent.

Authors Alice Camille

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Quotes

22 Oct 2023 - Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

He has a right to criticize, who has a heart to help. —Abraham Lincoln You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life. —Winston Churchill Any day, any minute we bless God for our being or for anything, for food, for sunlight, we do and are what we were meant for, made for—things that give and mean to give God glory. —Gerard Manley Hopkins

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Quotes

05 Nov 2023 - Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power. —Abraham Lincoln If we really want to love, we must learn how to forgive. —Saint Teresa of Calcutta God favors the humble. Scripture tells us that he resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. In fact he gives them everything . . . . He cannot refuse it. He gives himself entirely to humility. —Cardinal Jean Verdier Priesthood is not about power, prestige, or privilege. The pedestal has been struck down. The status lost. The Lord cautioned his disciples not to be seeking places of honor. —Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas We must begin by purifying ourselves before purifying others; we must be instructed to be able to instruct, become light to illuminate, draw close to God to bring him close to others, be sanctified to sanctify, lead by the hand and counsel prudently. —Saint Gregory of Nazianzus

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