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“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with glory; Give thanks to Him and glorify His name.” — Psalm 100:4
When the word “thank you” is mentioned, what immediately comes to mind? Putting aside the demands and pressures of everyday life, gathering with loved ones once again for a feast, remembering how blessed we were last year, and praying for similar blessings in the years to come?
This year, as the diocesan holiday built around thanksgiving approaches once again, it may be more appropriate to change its traditional name from Thanksgiving to Thanksgiving.
Because this year — thankful to have survived the perilous and arduous journeys fleeing their troubled homelands in search of a new life and new opportunities in the United States — migrants flock to St. Gabriel’s Church, or St. Pius, in East New York. The V Church in Jamaica is grateful for the free meals there.
Crown Heights or St. Michael-St. Malachy Parish in East New York is also thankful for rooms full of free clothes collected by generous congregants.
“I thank God that I came here to eat and get warm clothes,” said one of the migrants who arrived in New York on October 16 after a week’s journey from his native Venezuela.
However, other migrants from St. Michael-St. Malachi heads to the Bronx, where the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is providing free training to pave the way for them to obtain safety certifications, which will allow them to enter construction jobs.
“Everybody wants a job,” Father Brendan Buckley, of St. Michael’s-St. Malachi spoke of newcomers willing to travel from homeless shelters two blocks away to find work. “None of them are looking for a handout.”
Then there are the immigrant parents who choose to build their futures here in New York, thankful that their children have had the opportunity to receive a quality Catholic education that will set them on the path to a successful life.
Earlier this year, New York Archbishop Cardinal Timothy Dolan said Catholic schools in the archdiocese were willing to offer scholarships to children of immigrant families who want to settle here.
But it’s not just the newly arrived migrants who are thankful for the harshest weather of the year to help them out.
With hundreds of local tenants at risk of eviction, their cases backlogged in a hopelessly understaffed and creaking Housing Court system, Catholic Migration Services is advocating for more funding for attorneys representing them.
The Diocese of Brooklyn – with its 188 parishes – is once again offering food pantries, coat drives, flea markets and other assistance to the needy.
And those who receive generosity, those who need it, will be grateful.
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. — 1 Thessalonians 5:16
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