Should we only focus on gratitude once a year? Certainly not. But sometimes, Thanksgiving can be a good reminder to get our family back on track with a gratitude practice. Here are some ways families can instill an attitude of gratitude in their homes:

1. Encourage showing gratitude to one another in the home. Sometimes we forget to thank the people we love the most.

2. Add gratitude prayer into your daily prayers. Greet the day with gratitude, thank God for the gift of food and close the night with a remembrance of a special moment in the day for which you are thankful.

3. Create a kindness jar. Ask kids, did someone do something kind for you at school today? Talk about how that made them feel and add that person's name to the jar! Put your own examples of kindness from one another in the jar as well!

4. Make a thankful tree as a visual reminder in your home.

5. Instill a practice of writing notes of gratitude to friends, family, church, and community members!

On November 13, we celebrate the Memorial of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini. St. Frances Cabrini was born in the 19th century in Italy. She founded a small religious order and wanted to travel as a missionary to China. The Pope, however, told her to go to New York City. She found that the city was very poor and filled with orphans and immigrants who needed assistance. She began work to create schools. During her life, she created over 60 schools, hospitals, and orphanages around the world. She is remembered as Mother Cabrini and her order, the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus continues on in their good work. St. Frances Xavier Cabrini even has a state holiday in her honor, in the state of Colorado and there is a nearby Shrine devoted to Mother Cabrini, in NYC (https://cabrinishrinenyc.org/#section-ministries )

We wish our own St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Parish a Happy Feast Day!

In honor of Mother Cabrini, who devoted her life to sharing a welcoming spirit with those who were often unwelcome, think about ways in which your family can show hospitality to a person or group in your community!

ACTS is an acronym that stands for adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication. These are four types of prayer.

• Adoration: Praising God for who he is and what he has done.

• Confession: Saying sorry for the hurt we’ve caused God and others.

• Thanksgiving: Thanking God for all he has done for us.

• Supplication: Asking God to grant us what we need.

This week, let's focus on THANKSGIVING Prayers. Each day, choose a new thing to thank God for and share your prayer at the dinner table or at another special family meal time! Thank you, God for.....

Light a candle at your Thanksgiving table to honor those you have lost. Acknowledge the candle at your Thanksgiving meal and invite anyone to share intentions for those they would like the candle to burn in memory of at the meal. Share stories of those special loved ones; it's a great way to connect kids to their family history!