Thanksgiving Day provides a great opportunity for families to join in prayer and thanksgiving for the many gifts and blessings we have received.
Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers, a book of prayers and blessings, was prepared by the U.S. bishops’ Committee on the Liturgy for use in the United States by Catholic families and households.
The book encourages the association of Thanksgiving with special efforts for the hungry and for economic justice. They suggest our prayer on this day should reflect our consciousness of the great inequality that pervades the world, and how we are to give thanks in such a world.
The following prayer and song can be used for a table gathering on Thanksgiving Day, beginning with a Scripture reading, such as Philippians 4:4-7:
Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice! Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near. Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Lord, we thank you for the goodness of our people and for the spirit of justice that fills this nation. We thank you for the beauty and fullness of the land and the challenge of the cities. We thank you for our work and our rest, for one another, and for our homes. We thank you, Lord: (Pause for other prayers of thanksgiving.)
For all that we have spoken and all that we keep in our hearts, accept our thanksgiving on this day. We pray and give thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
"Now Thank We All Our God," "Holy God, We Praise Thy Name" or another song may be sung to conclude the prayer.
