Pastor’s Desk – November 23, 2025

Dear Fellow Parishioners,

Every place has its own markers of times and seasons. Here, the first signs of fall can begin in late September or early October, but really take hold in November. The pumpkin patches and corn mazes of October become the Christmas tree lots of late November and beyond. At local farmers’ markets, tomatoes, stone fruit and sweet corn are replaced by squash and root vegetables. We’ve already had the first of our much needed rains, with more promised, which blessedly bring an end to the fire season and start the greening of our gardens and fields.

Just as the signs of autumn and winter appear, two kinds of seeds are planted with Thanksgiving and the First Sunday of Advent, which we celebrate within the next few days: the seeds of Thanksgiving gratitude, and the seeds of spiritual rebirth in Advent. Here, truth and humanity go hand in hand, and can render a harvest of grace.

In addition to gratitude, one of the major ingredients of Thanksgiving is nostalgia. It is a fitting conclusion to November, when we remember, and pray for, our beloved departed, which can also be an act of forgiveness. Our Thanksgiving memories take on a deep spiritual character if we are grateful for our loved ones, whatever their imperfections. They are not even in the past, because they are always with us.

The senses most connected to memory are taste and smell, and that’s where Thanksgiving dinner comes in. For many of us, it’s the only time of the year when we have turkey, stuffing, bean and mushroom soup casserole, scalloped corn and, of course, cranberry sauce. (Not the overpriced fancy-schmancy stuff, but the good kind that slides out of the can in one log.) Some of our Hispanic community have creative variations, since turkey is not a traditional part of their food culture. Some barbecue turkeys slathered with salsa, others spend hours making tamales, nopales (cactus, which when properly prepared are like French-cut green beans), a non-turkey meat course, and traditional sides. Tortillas replace dinner rolls. Fine Mexican and Hispanic cuisine is deceptively simple, and though I consider myself a passable home cook of the basics, I’ve never tried to make it. It’s too difficult to do well, yet so many of our families do exactly that.

Every year, our parish staff has an annual Thanksgiving midday dinner on the Wednesday a week before Thanksgiving, which is a mix of all of these things. It is one of the nicest, and most important, staff events of the year. Parishioners always know whether their priests and staff get along, as it is an important sign of the unity of the parish. Offering grace at that table with my colleagues in ministry is for me one of the happiest moments of the year.

I wish you all a grateful Thanksgiving Day, and a blessed beginning of Advent.

Blessings, Fr Bill Donahue